Toni Stark - Marriage issues
by Mairai688
Summary: When the Avengers are faced with a problem that only Toni and Natasha can solve. One of them has to marry Loki. Who will it be? Toni or Natasha? Will the team stay together or will they break apart due to the consequences of Toni's actions? (Toni Eliza Stark - Female)
1. Chapter 1 Marriage Debates

"Wait Odin wants us to do what?!" Clint exclaims, having not been paying attention to what Thor was saying in the common area. Everyone gives him the 'look' and Thor continues after sighing in his frustration.

"The All Father Odin has demanded that either the Widow of Black or the Maiden of Iron is to marry Loki. He can no longer remain in Asgard as he is wearying the All Father. If Loki marries either one of you he will not be able to harm the Earth or you. That is as much detail I can give you, you will only learn more if you consent to marrying him and if you find it too much of a burden you may refrain." Thor states and looks at both of the two females in the eye, breaking them from their distractions-well Toni from her distraction anyway, Natasha never seems to get distracted.

Natasha gives him one second of eye contact before stating her decision. "I won't marry Loki unless I have all the details Thor. So unless you can give me some more information then I won't do it."

Thor nods and looks at Toni hopefully. They both know what she's doing, the others may not be able to see it but they can. She will give all the information to SHIELD so that they'll be able to control him and probably do things to him that would cause him to go mad again. Just from looking at each others' eyes allows them to see they're on the same page. Before she verbalises any decision she thinks it over quickly.

Loki had tried to control her and threw her out of the window. He 'killed' Coulson and took control of Hawkeye. Yet when she had been talking to Loki he seemed rather hesitant to fight her, but was genuinely surprised that he couldn't control her. From what she could read from him, he'd had a very similar life growing up as she had. Both of them had been abused and treated harshly, so Toni could sympathise with him and understand his actions despite all the destruction they caused. And anyone deserves a second chance, she's living on hers so why can't he, if Natasha marries him he will be unhappy and still be abused. At least with her he could become better and be happy.

After cataloguing all of this she looks Thor straight in the eye her expression serious. "I'll do it. I'll marry Loki." The others look at her shocked, they'd all thought that she would be the last woman on Earth to ever agree to that, but right now they all think she's being her usual self and hasn't thought any of this through. Which is completely wrong, she always thinks things through, well except when she's running some dangerous experiments in the lab.

Natasha all in all looks angry. Not that anyone else can see it, but Toni has known the redhead a long time and can read her better than Clint can, 'cause, hey, her Father had the best poker face she'd ever seen, even better than Fury's, so if she could tell what he was thinking and feeling on a bad day when it was harder to read him, then she can certainly read Fury and Natasha.

"Very well. Thank you Maiden of Iron. I will go and inform Odin and when I return I shall speak to you alone of what will happen. Farewell my friends." And with that he leaves the building with a swish of his cape and a thunder clap. Toni can feel everyone looking at her but she just ignores them, stands up from her place on the couch, stretches, and walks to the elevator calmly and goes to her room. She doesn't bother locking the door as she knows the others will be down there soon enough to lecture her and accuse her in Natasha's case, Toni's looking forward to that one. In the meantime she starts to undress out of her business suit that she'd been in for S.I meetings all day, and removes the makeup before taking a short, warm, shower and changing into some comfortable PJ's. Sitting on her bed she reflects on what happened in the common area only a month before with Loki and the Glow Stick of Destiny.

"-and you've managed to peeve off every single one of them." She says whilst holding her favourite glass of apple juice out in front of her.

"That was the plan." Loki says in response coming slightly closer to her.

"Not a very good plan Loki, I thought you'd have been smarter than this, I guess I have to be proven wrong sometimes." She says whilst taking a sip of her drink.

"Have you been abused your whole life? Were you put down by everyone and always treated like you were nothing?! Only then to find out you weren't even related to your supposed family?!" He yells at her and Toni can see that he's close to tearing from his eyes and the sound of his voice. She looks down at her hands, which are holding her glass, thoughtfully and she can tell Loki thinks he's won. She looks back up at him, her face devoid of all expression which is found in her voice.

"Yes, I do know what it's like." Her voice is full of sincerity and strength that Loki is taken aback in surprise and seems like he's about to say something when the Glow Stick of Destiny brightens causing him to groan in pain before looking back at her and Toni can tell that he's back to being mind controlled...

The door flying open breaks her attention from the memories and she looks up to see all the Avengers-sans Thor-standing in the doorway, Cap looking ready for a lecture, Bruce seemingly worried, Clint grinning but also worried, and Natasha is practically fuming, although the others can't tell that. She smirks at them and raises an eyebrow. Those single movements causing the dam to break.

"What the heck Toni?!" Cap, Widow and Clint exclaim, although at least Clint sounds excited. Bruce just stares at her. They look at her then walk decidedly towards the bed. Cap coming to a stand in front of her with Natasha on his left staring at her-still fuming.

"What? Widow didn't want to marry him and I'm the only other female on the team so what's your problem?" I ask smartly, and they both glare at me while Bruce just sighs and answers for them.

"They think that Widow would do a better job at keeping an eye on him and making sure he doesn't escape or do anything bad. Plus, she only said she wouldn't marry him if she didn't have all the details. She never gave a definitive no." They both nod at his words and glare at me again, but I remain impassive to them.

"But I said yes, and before you say that I didn't think it through, I actually did and it is not in your power to stop me from doing this. I will not change my mind and I won't let you talk me out of it. I've made up my mind so back off." I say firmly. They're taken aback but I don't care, it's not for them to decide what I do and I won't let them hurt Loki.

"Toni, why did you agree to it though? I thought you'd be the last person to ever do that." Clint asks, no longer grinning, he'd been looking forward to my 'telling off' and lecture from Cap and Widow which hasn't happened yet so he's not feeling as smug.

"Because I can understand things from his perspective, I can understand why he acted the way he did-and I don't approve of it by the way," I add before they can start an argument. "I'm just saying that I can understand where he's coming from. Also if Widow married him he'd be kept almost continuously in a cell, treated like he's going to murder someone, possibly experimented on and be interrogated and just be downright miserable. He's been through a lot of things, most of which you'll never know and if he gets treated the way I expect him to be if he marries Widow, he's more than likely going to fight against everything that is done to him." She snaps at them, she'd had enough of their attitude and always thinking that she did everything on impulse without thinking things through. They always talked about her like that and she didn't need JARVIS to tell her that either for her to know either.

"So now that you can see that I have thought this all through you can leave because despite what you all believe I actually have a job and work to do that leaves me quite tired on a regular basis so I'd like to get some sleep. Good night." She finished abruptly leaving no room for argument and climbed under the covers on the right side of her bed, because she felt quite uncomfortable with the Avengers in her room in full battle armour with her only wearing her jogging bottoms and a purple t-shirt making her Arc Reactor feel very vulnerable to the people in front of her and she didn't trust them right now either.

"C'mon Cap, I thought you were raised never to look at a woman in her nightwear?" She said one eyebrow raised, causing him to blush a deep red at her words. She smirked as they all abruptly left, grumbling amongst themselves over what happened and she distinctly heard the tell-tale of a lock clicking back into place, JARVIS not even needing to be told to do so. She smiled to herself at how natural things were coming to her AI who clearly knew she was tired and didn't want to be disturbed. She rolled over onto her side and immediately fell into a deep sleep, though unfortunately not unridden of her nightmares.

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**Working on second chapter, I hope you enjoy this. :)**


	2. Chapter 2 Marriage Interviews with gods

I woke up screaming, having been experiencing a remix of my common PTSD induced nightmares from both the Cave and the Wormhole. Which had left me in my current state of shaking with a cold sweat sliding down my face and back, also with the fact that the Avengers were all running towards me room probably in full battle attire to fight whatever threat it was against me. I close my eyes and press my fingers to my temples as I try to force the memories back into their cage and rebuild the dam around them. Whilst mentally preparing myself for the questions which I knew would be coming at any minute now. I had JARVIS unlock the door before they came barging in so that it wouldn't fly off of its hinges again like the previous time when I'd screamed because Rhodey was coming home. When they did barge in I was right in my presumption of them being in full battle attire and looking just about ready to kill whatever it was that had made me scream. When they realised however that there was nothing to fight they turned to see me gasping for breath as I hold tightly onto my Arc Reactor hoping to use that as an excuse as to why I screamed and looked pale and sweaty.

"Are you okay Toni?" Bruce asks calmly, coming over to me and resting an arm on my shoulder. I nod and take a shaky breath before answering the spoken and unspoken questions.

"I'm fine... I just got startled by my alarm and the Arc Reactor's light blinded me from when my heart jumped, it's set it off at an odd rhythm, it'll calm down in a minute." I answer him, closing her eyes and focusing on her heart rate. Once it had calmed down enough I open my eyes to see everyone else's, including Thor's eyes, watching me in concern.

"Are you sure? You've never reacted like that to your alarm before." Bruce asks, not quite believing the lie. I manage to come with a quick and reasonable response that they are likely going to believe.

"I adjusted the sound last night before I fell asleep, I didn't hear it last time, but I think I put it up too high." I gasp, still having trouble catching my breath, other than a raised eyebrow he seems to accept the lie as do the others who now just look annoyed.

"Why on earth would you do that Toni? We thought you were being attacked!" Cap exclaims as the others, bar Thor and Bruce, glare at me.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I was tired anyway! Now get out of my room before I get JARVIS to do it!" I knows I'm being a bit harsh, but after having a flashback like that I'm not exactly feeling social.

They look at me in shock before doing as she says, except for Thor who seems to be wanting to say something. "What is it Thor?" I ask tiredly. Thor waits for the others footsteps to diminish down the hallway before closing the door and facing me.

"I know that this isn't exactly appropriate behaviour, Maiden of Iron, but I wish to speak to you about the situation at hand." He looks at me, as if waiting for an answer so I nod and wave my hand for him to continue. "As you know, I went to speak to the All Father about your agreement to marry Loki, he would like to meet with you to discuss the details of the wedding before allowing it to go through. You will talk in private away from anyone else as this is sacred information and from what happened yesterday with the disagreements, as I was told about, I believe that you should come to Asgard as soon as possible." Thor looks at me waiting for my response, but she looks down at her hands which are shaking and still wet from sweat. She hadn't expected to have to talk to Odin himself, if I had to talk to anyone else then it might've been okay, but the actual All Father himself? Not what I had bargained for. Even so, I clear my throat so that I can speak and look him in the eye.

"When should I go?" He didn't seem to be expecting me to ask that so soon from what I could see from his expression. He blinks away his surprise and answers me again.

"As soon as you are ready to, though do not rush yourself, we can leave at any point and I would not wish you to upset your heart more than it has been. Will it need to be checked before we leave to ensure you can travel?" He asks and I looks up and signals fro JARVIS to relay her current heart condition.

"Ms. Stark's heart rate has effectively gone down and she should be able to travel, although I do recommend that she eats and let her heart have a break before leaving for Asgard."

"Very well, I will leave you to prepare yourself, I suggest you wear formal attire for meeting with the All Father." I nod back at him and he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as I hear JARVIS lock it I climbs out of bed and runs straight to the bathroom toilet and effectively throws up. There'd been a reason for me not talking as much, I always feel sick after my heart's gone out of rhythm as it reminds me of when Oba-Stane took out her Arc Reactor. It was a miracle that I managed to hold it down for so long but that always means that it was more painful coming back up, especially with the Arc Reactor in my chest, it always felt like it was being lurched in my chest!

Breathing heavily, I allow myself time for my heart to calm down before flushing the toilet and brushing my teeth abruptly before stripping and going straight into the shower to wash off all the sweat on my body. Water still scares me, standing under a shower is difficult but a lot better than being in a bath. I can still swim in pools and such, but only by choice, if anyone else tries to get me to go in, it would make me feel like I'm going to be water-boarded again which would essentially put me off any water for a month at least. I still irritate my doctor by not drinking enough water when I can drink it, so I now has to drink it out of a cup with a lid so I can't see the water.

The Avengers all think that it's just me being fussy as only Pepper and JARVIS know what happened to me in the Cave. I'd told Pepper after having a breakdown not long after I returned, I've always seen her as the big sister I never had and could confide in which is why she found out. Rhodey doesn't know, he's been told a few minor things but nothing else. He is my best friend and all, but he wouldn't really understand what she went through, whereas Pepper does.

After I'm done in the shower, wrapping my towel around myself, I goes back into the bedroom where JARVIS presents me with a sleek, long sleeved, black dress I smile to myself. JARVIS knows me so well. After putting on the dress, make-up, and three inch black heels, she leaves me room and goes straight to the kitchen to eat something small before leaving with Thor. I don't really need to wear the heels as I'm 5'11, very tall for someone in my family, but since I'm so tall I rarely get to wear heels, so it's just fitting that Thor and Loki's families are 6'4 and over.

When I enter the kitchen all movement stops, which she completely ignores. Natasha had been reading the newspaper that Cap insisted they order before joining Cap, Hawkeye and Thor's conversation/argument over something, whilst Bruce was doing Hulk-knows-what on a tablet ignoring them. She catches the last of the sentence from the argument before they fall silent, they'd been talking about her and that Natasha should be the one to go to Asgard and that SHIELD should know about what was going on. It seemed that Thor was against both decisions as he was looking at them all angrily throughout the argument. She goes to the fridge and takes out the apple juice before getting out a glass and pouring herself some juice. She then turns to the island and sits down after grabbing an apple. She ignores the silence, though it's killing her to sit through it, until one of the others decides to speak up.

"Toni, why are you dressed... formal?" Cap asks and Toni looks up from her drink and apple which are half eaten and drunk. She appears to stare at something near him so that she can make eye contact with Thor. He doesn't want them to know she's going to Asgard so she comes up with a quick excuse whilst still seemingly staring at nothing.

"I'm going to visit an old friend from MIT, we haven't seen each other in a few years so we thought we might meet up and just talk. We're going to see her family as well, so she suggested I wear something formal. I don't exactly know where we're going, but it'll be out of cell phone range and I don't know when I'll be back so don't wait up for me." I say finishing my apple and drink before putting the core in the bin and the glass in the dishwasher. When I turn back to face the others I'm a little surprised to see everyone-including Bruce who hadn't been paying attention-staring at me. "What? Do I have something in my hair?" I ask annoyed.

That seems to break them from their reverie and Bruce, again, goes to answer for them. "Why didn't you tell us that yesterday? Or earlier this morning, we were planning on going out." That surprises me, when had they decided to do that? Besides, this has happened before.

"It's not like this is the first time something like this has happened, anyway we only planned it half an hour ago, and I really what some time alone with an old friend anyway. But I should probably be leaving now." I say as she heads towards the elevator, making brief eye contact with Thor knowing that he'll leave a few minutes after her so as not to be obvious. I go down to the garage and take out my 'stealth car', as Rhodey likes to call it, so that I won't be tracked by the others since my number plate can change continuously when I want it to. It's nothing too flash, obviously I built it, but colour wise, it's just plain silver with added features for defence and such that not even Rhodey knows about also it can travel over 300 mph if I want it to. Yeah dangerous, even JARVIS hates the fact that I do go over 300 mph almost every time I'm in that car, it's not like the police could stop me if they wanted to though, well they can but never do, uses too much fuel for them, this car runs on an Arc Reactor I built into it.

After getting into the car and driving at 250 mph to Central park, I walk into the centre of the park and find the most shaded area I can to keep people from coming up to her with cameras and questions. Though I doubt I have long before the paparazzi find me, I just hopes Thor will get there quickly before they do though. About 15 minutes later and 4 conversations with little kids playing tag, Thor arrives and I expose myself slightly in the sunlight, allowing it to bounce off of her Arc Reactor so that it catches his eye. He turns and walks straight to me, careful to keep out of sight of other people.

"Forgive me for the delay Maiden of Iron, it was difficult for me to leave the Tower." He says rather quietly for him, but still loud enough to be heard by other people.

"It's okay Thor, should we go now?" He nods and calls for Heimdall. I feel a surge run through me, almost like in an elevator or on a high rollercoaster that suddenly drops. When I open my eyes I'm startled to see a tall man with a sword-whom I'm assuming is Heimdall-staring down at me. Thor laughs slightly at my expression before greeting Heimdall and introducing us.

"Maiden of Iron, this is Heimdall who controls the Bifrost and sees everything. Heimdall, this is the Maiden of Iron." I smile slightly, not entirely sure what else to do.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Maiden of Iron." He says and I nod back still feeling nervous. "The All Father is waiting for you in the gardens." Thor thanks him and we start our journey to the gardens outside the palace I'm assuming. Asgard is not quite what I was expecting, but I can understand why Thor is so proud of his home. It is very beautiful, full of colour and light. As we walk into the village, I feel very self-conscious as people stop and stare at me walking with Thor. I ask Thor why they're staring and he answers quietly.

"They know that you have agreed to marry Loki, some of them are wondering why. They are curious about you. They have all heard many stories of you and our fellow Avengers, they know you to be very intelligent as well as unpredictable much like Loki. They know of your many masks and talents also. They wish to know who you are." He finishes and I stare ahead of me for a few minutes in shock, although I keep my expression poker, wary of those around me. Sooner than I expected, we arrive at the Palace gardens and are lead to a private grove where I see Odin and Frigga sat down at a table waiting for us. My nerves immediately return, but I keep my face neutral, not yet willing to show my true emotions.

Odin and Frigga both stand when they see us approach. Almost immediately they send the guards away and the way we came in suddenly disappears to be replaced by a large hedge. They then turn to greet us, Frigga speaking first.

"Thor it's so good to see you again, I missed you yesterday," She says giving him a hug which he returns gladly, before turning to me and smiling. "and you must be the Maiden of Iron?" She asks.

"Yes, but please call me Toni." I respond and she smiles brightly, making me give a small smile in return. Then Odin speaks to me.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Maiden of Iron. We have heard much about you, from both Thor and Loki." He says gently. That surprises me, I hadn't quite expected him to sound so gentle, and I definitely hadn't expected Loki to mention me.

"Loki told you about me?" I ask, and all three of them look at each other before Frigga answers.

"Yes. After he was told that he would be marrying one the female Avengers, he immediately mentioned you, he seemed only to be willing to marry you and seemed quite taken with you also." That surprised me, I hadn't expected Loki to speak about me, let alone like me in that way, maybe it was just him trying to avoid being married to Natasha.

"Perhaps we should sit down and talk about why you are here." Odin says and I comply, choosing to sit between Thor and Frigga, still a bit uncertain about Odin. The seats are extremely comfortable and make my body relax easily although I remain neutral as ever, going into my 'business' mode as people have come to duct it.

Thor is quiet beside me and Frigga is smiling lightly, while Odin looks at me curiosity in his eyes. I'm unsure whether I'm supposed to speak or not, but as the silence stretches, my nervous panic starts to build up and I begin to fidget despite my best efforts. I'm relieved when Odin finally speaks, breaking the silence.

"So, I believe Thor told you why you are here?" He asks me, and I let out a quiet breath, releasing all the emotions that had been riling around inside of me, whilst still outwardly appearing calm.

"He told me you wished to speak to me about the proposed marriage and the details of it." I state calmly, and Odin nods seemingly to himself, but probably to Thor actually.

"Yes, and what do you know about it already? Is there anything you don't currently understand?" He asks, and I have to think about that for a moment before answering.

"I know that I would have to be made a goddess in order for it to work, that it's a dangerous process and that some of those who have gone through it before have died. My only question is how was it not known about on Earth, during your time there?" This time it's who Frigga answers me.

"The few who were chosen to be made gods happened after our period of time on the Earth so that it wouldn't send all the other mortals into a frenzy for power. I'm sure you can understand that." I nod in response, it makes sense, a lot of villains would certainly be going after it and it would become very difficult to fight any of them if they suddenly became almost invincible.

"The people who have been chosen before, what was their status? Did you choose those with power but were humble or those who were overlooked?" I ask, suddenly curious.

"We have chosen from both before," Odin starts, watching me carefully as he answers my questions. "But it was easier for those who were overlooked, if they died then there wouldn't be as much chaos on Midgard." I can understand that, but I still have two more questions to ask about it.

"How did you choose them?" I let my curiosity show somewhat, so that they'll know I've not been tasked to tell these things to anyone else. They seem to relax a fraction as they see my curiosity which eases my nerves a little.

"We choose them by their actions, the ones that survived were all on their second chances at life, they seemed to have some of the greatest morals we have ever seen. Those still on their first had the least chance of survival. Part of the process to being made a god is to relive everything you have ever been through and to accept who you really are, few have survived this because they have not been able to accept the true nature of themselves." Odin says, his ever watchful gaze lingering on my as I process this information. I have nothing to say to that, I just have one more question I need to ask.

"You wanted to talk to me to see my actions for yourselves, to decide whether I am worthy. You've been watching Black Widow and myself closely before you sent Thor back to Earth to tell us about the situation." I start, they're all surprised at what I have said, and Frigga voices their thoughts for them.

"How did you learn of this?" She asks, her eyes wide in awe and shock, similar to Odin though he seems more interested than anything else.

"My Father had the best poker face I have encountered in my life, not even Loki and his lies could fool me. I learnt to read my Father first, and so always knew almost every detail of the day that he had had. So I can now read people perfectly, and as a woman you tend to underestimated. Especially me despite my genius, I'm constantly being underestimated by everyone I meet, which allows me to spot things they haven't." I state which leaves them shocked, but I haven't answered their question yet.

"So how did you come to know of the details Maiden of Iron?" Odin asks me, using one of my names for the first time.

"It started when Thor came to the Tower yesterday. Even though I was exhausted from a long day of work I could tell he was frustrated and when he had to repeat himself because Clint hadn't been paying attention, he wasn't frustrated at Clint, he was frustrated with me." Thor looks at me in surprise, unsure of how to respond, but seemingly impressed with my observation.

"Yes I was, I could tell that you were exhausted Maiden of Iron, but I had hoped that you would be paying attention so I was surprised when you did answer." Thor states and I smile back at him before responding.

"Yes, that is one of my greatest talents Thor, deception. If you don't want someone to know something about you or you don't want to be on their 'hit' list you do something that annoys or frustrates them. That way they'll keep out of your way and reveal things in front of you that they wouldn't think they'd be paying attention to." Frigga looks at me impressed and turns to Odin who nods back to her in silent conversation. I watch them carefully, trying to discern what they are 'talking' about, but not really feeling inclined to invade on their privacy. I could easily figure out what they're 'talking' about, but when you sat in a closed off garden with three gods that could easily kill you, it's a good idea not to invade on their privacy.

"But I do have one more question to ask," I start and they all turn to my expectantly, and I wring my hands together in nervousness, not sure how they'll react or how to voice my question. After staring at my hands for a few minutes I finally gather up the courage to look them all in the eye and voice my question. "If I marry Loki, will you allow us to be left alone and unwatched for at least a month after the wedding process? I'd like things to settle before anyone tries to make amends with him." They turn and look at each other for a few minutes before Odin answers.

"We were not expecting this request, but we can see the wisdom in it." Odin says then turns to Frigga who in turn speaks, and I can tell it was about their previous conversation which has my nerves rattling again.

"We have come to an agreement." Frigga starts, pulling my attention back to the situation at hand and I feel my chest tighten around the Arc Reactor in nervous anticipation, though I still remain poker to them. "We find you worthy of becoming a god and marrying our son, however before we announce the wedding to anyone, there is someone you must speak with first." She looks towards the entryway that Thor and I came through, so naturally I turn and see the entryway restored, with three men standing in the middle. Two of them are guards with spears, the one in the middle I can not see clearly until he lifts up his head and I look straight into the cold blue eyes of Loki Laufeyson.

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**I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've got quite a few exciting things coming in next. (I'm sorting out the tenses problem, thanks Guest user for that, I kept mixing it up when I was writing the story).**


	3. Chapter 3 Proposals

"Loki..." I whisper. He looks at me, a sort of ashamed look in his eyes before returning them to cold so that no one else can see. He's ashamed of what he did in New York, I realise and I look down at my hands to contemplate this for a moment without being seen by the others. I look back up when I am ready and Odin motions for the guards to bring him forward.

His hands are bound in some sort of magic restraint handcuffs-I have no idea what else to call them-and he's dressed in his usual dark green tunic, nothing in his appearance has changed since I last saw him in New York, except for his injuries have now healed. The guards leave him standing in front of us before turning and disappearing the way they came as the hedge covers up the exit route once again. I look at him briefly before turning back to Odin and Frigga who have both now stood up along with Thor and I watch them nervously. Not entirely sure what they're about to do. Odin goes over to Loki and unchains his hands, making the handcuffs disappear before turning back to me.

"We will leave you to talk in private, when you are done say 'forever life' and we shall return." I nod in response, not entirely sure what else to do and the three of them leave the grove so that Loki and I are left in a slightly awkward silence.

We remain in silence before my anxiety starts to creep back up. I look up at Loki , hoping to find some form of distraction when I notice him rubbing his wrists carefully. I stand up and walk over to him, two inches difference in our height I notice, as I stand in front of him and take his hands in mine. The skin on his wrists are rubbed raw and bleeding slightly from where the cuffs have been placed and tugged on too tightly. I look at them disapprovingly and pull him with me towards the seats and small table with glasses of water and small snacks on them that I just noticed. Forcing him to sit down, I grab a napkin and dampen it with some water from one of the glasses before lightly pressing it to the raw skin. Being careful not to press too hard on the parts that are bleeding. This goes one for a while, as I'm not sure what to say and I don't really want to let go of his hands, afraid that he'll reject me like my Father did and many others after him. I can't stand silence, but this silence is a comfortable one so I am able to deal with it much better than I normally am able to.

Loki's hands shift inside my palm and I look up to see him watching me curiously, his eyes following my every movement so that he's now looking me in the eyes. "No ones ever taken such care over me before," He says suddenly, surprising me and causing to press a little too hard on another patch of raw skin that causes him to hiss in pain. I mutter a quiet apology and look back at my hands, making sure not to hurt him again. "Only Frigga has cared about my physical wellbeing before, but not so much as you." I stop and look back up to see that his eyes are held with truth. I feel sadness swell inside me, that the only one to actually care about him was his mother and no one else. He looks at me strangely for a moment and I realise that I've dropped my mask, something I only ever do around people I trust completely and even then it's still guarded. How am I so comfortable with Loki to show this? Is it my instincts that are telling me I can trust him?

"Why did you do it?" I ask quietly, pausing in my movement to look at him. "Why didn't you talk to someone about it?" He looks away from me, anger and shame in his eyes. It's a few moments before he answers, his deep voice quieter than my own.

"Do you find it easy to express your feelings?" He asks instead, surprising me a little. I consider this for a moment, stopping what I'm doing. I look back at him and shake my head slightly before answering.

"No, I don't... But I don't seem to be having any issue showing you my emotions right now." He looks at me in surprise at what I said, clearly he wasn't expecting me to say that.

"Bu-but why? Why would you trust me in seeing your emotions after everything I did to you?" I shrug in response while still dabbing at his cuts. I reapply water to the cloth and start on his other hand, causing him to wince as the cold water touches his skin.

"Maybe it's because I understand what you've been through. People are more open to others who have been through similar experiences as them because they both understand the pain and suffering it causes you, both physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually." I look back up at him and I can see tears in his eyes that I notice he's not trying to hide from me, which surprises me a little.

"I'm-I'm sorry about throwing you out of the window, and causing you to go through with this wedding if you'll still agree to it. But I can't marry the Widow of Black, she's just–" He struggles internally as he tries to find the right word to describe her. He eventually comes up empty and sighs, I smile in response and allow him to see the understanding in my eyes, causing him to smile a little. It can be very difficult to describe the Black Widow and even more so to like her. I'd hoped, when I'd hired her after I made Pepper CEO, that she would become a sister to me like Pepper did before I quickly found out who she was and knew it wasn't going to happen. She wasn't the most comforting person to be around when you needed them, something that isn't always the easiest to explain.

"You don't need to worry about forcing me into this Loki. It wasn't right what your family did, but that doesn't justify your actions either." I say and he looks back down at his hands that are starting to look a lot less gruesome than they had before.

"I know, but I didn't know what else to do." He whispers and I can see all the grief and heartbreak that he's been trying to contain behind the dam collapse as he starts to cry quietly. I pull my hands away from his and put the cloth down before surprising him by wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. He tenses up at first, not used to the contact much like myself, then relaxes and sinks into the hug. We sit like that for a few moments, Loki releasing all of his emotions quietly on my shoulder and me offering comfort and understanding. Something he's never experienced before.

Once he's finished crying I pull gently out of the hug as neither of us are very good with physical contact. He's smiling at me softly and I return the smile before handing him a napkin to wipe away his tears. He laughs slightly when I hand it to him before gently wiping them away. He leans back in seat and closes his eyes, breathing calmer than before. I allow him his moment, not pressing him to talk or answer any of the questions I want to ask him until he's ready for it. It takes a while, and I've started my nervous habit of wringing my hands-as it looks a bit wrong to tap my hand against the Arc Reactor's glass considering where it is situated in my chest-when he finally asks me a question.

"Was there anyone, you know, before you were told about this that you were going to marry or were in love with?" His choice of subject in conversation startles me a bit but I manage to answer him without slipping on my words.

"There... was someone I was, well I hoped I could marry. But I found him at home with two women in his bed after I'd gone to try and resolve a fight we had. He lost all the trust I'd ever allowed him, which wasn't much but still a lot in my case. He's been trying to get me back with him since. It happened just before you came to Earth actually." I say quietly, not really wanting to think about my ex as of this moment. Clearly seeing this, Loki quickly moves onto a slightly different subject.

"If you were not to marry me... do you think you ever would get married?" He asks looking at me nervously, unsure if he'd hit a sensitive spot or not.

"No." I replied honestly and he looks at me in shock, obviously not expecting that as my answer. So I decide to explain. "I've been betrayed too many times, trust been trodden under foot by friends, even family in one case. I don't trust men on Earth to understand me and to love me anymore. I've lost all faith and hope of having a family. I would still have to have an heir for the company though, otherwise I'd just pass it onto Pepper and my family name will disappear. I wouldn't let that happen though. I'd probably adopt a baby and raise them as my heir. I don't trust easily Loki, and with what's been going on as of late, you're the only one I can trust to marry as of right now." His dace is poker when I look up after wringing my hands together again and I'm too nervous to try and figure out what he's thinking.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I jump when he touches my hands, causing him to pull back slightly before placing his on top of mine again. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." He whispers and I give him a small smile before looking back down at our hands. His completely covering mine, encompassing them in warmth. "So are you willing to marry me? You're not just doing this because for your own personal gain?" He asks slightly worried. I shake my head and smile, laughing a little at his question.

"No... I'm not, that's Natasha, not me." I say lightly and he smiles in response before speaking.

"I know that this works differently on your planet, but..." He starts and I look up at him curiously, my head tilted to the side. He removes his left hand from on top of mine and suddenly a ring appears on hid palm. Gold with three diamonds, the two on the out edge smaller than the one in the middle. "Do you give your consent to marry me without any input from others whether they be friends or family?" He asks and I realise now that this is his way of proposing. That he's actually asking me to marry him because he is willing to do it and not because he was told he had to.

I feel tears being to form in my eyes, clogging my throat slightly and making it difficult to see. I give my answer in the way I think it is to be said. "I give my consent to marry you without input from friends or family." And the tears fall from my eyes as he slides the ring onto my left ring finger where it sits perfectly in place. I look at Loki and find tears on his face as well, clearly he'd been afraid that I would refuse his proposal. I now understand why Frigga said that I had to talk to him, his 'parents' had given their consent, but the wedding wouldn't actually be announced unless I agreed to Loki's proposal and talked about it beforehand. I smile warmly at him in my happiness and I feel my heart stutter slightly, the Arc Reactor betraying my emotions as it brightens in response to his movement, as he moves in closer and gently presses his lips against mine. A wave of energy passes between us and I feel the light of the Arc Reactor brighten in response and fill the air around us before disappearing almost as soon as it came.

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**Yes I know, really bad cliffhanger to leave you on, and sorry it isn't as long as the last chapter but I've got more exciting things happening that I wanted to put in the next one. Anyway thanks for your support!**


	4. Chapter 4 Wedding Plans

Things were... strange I guess, after that. Not long after the kiss, Odin, Frigga, and Thor ran into the grove in a sort of panic which was actually rather interesting to witness. Thor looked angry, in the way that he was about to attack whatever villain was there, the sky had immediately darkened when he entered and lightning was flying all around his body. Frigga looked stern, also ready to attack, which was actually very scary after seeing her so happy and kind. Odin was terrifying. If looks could kill, whichever villain attempted to attack him wouldn't even have a spirit by the end of it. They were all looking at Loki as though he'd tried to kill me, and that in itself was unsettling, that they so readily think he would do that.

"What happened?!" Thor boomed glaring at Loki who had now stood up and stepped behind me after I also stood. I can understand why, I'd have hidden behind him if they were looking at me like that. "What did you do to the Maiden of Iron Loki?!" I yells and I'm sure Cap would be able to hear him from Earth. Loki staggers back a little in fear.

"Me?! I didn't do anything! I don't even know what happened!" Loki yells and backs into the table knocking it over as he tries to move further away from Thor who growls loudly in response, Frigga and Odin also moving towards him. I move in front of Loki grabbing his hands in my own behind my back, avoiding his wrists that were still healing, to bring their attention to her and away from Loki.

"Loki didn't do anything." I say quietly, calmly so as not to cause any more aggravation. They look at me in surprise, probably because of how calm I look and how I'm protecting Loki.

"Then what was that light?" Thor asks his tone softer and voice quiet but still loud, the thunder clouds now retreating.

"It was my Arc Reactor Thor, I was... happy. Though that is the first time it's gone that bright. I've never felt that happy in my life." I whisper that last part as I realise the truth in it. I'd never felt so happy than when Loki proposed. I don't know when I let go but suddenly I feel my right arm cling onto the top of my left, tears starting to feel my eyes at my realisation. Loki comes to stand next to me, pulling me into a soft hug to ease my discomfort. I rest my head against his chest just above his heart which is beating frantically. "Are you okay?" I whisper extremely quietly so that only Loki can hear. I feel his chin rest on top of my head in a hidden nod and I manage to relax somewhat. After a few more minutes like this we finally pull apart and we both blush when we see the expressions of Thor, Frigga and Odin who look as though they've seen a Bilge Snipe eat a Frost Giant-okay I'm not sure if that was a good comparison but it's the closest thing I can think of.

"So," I start, unsure of what else to say. "What do we do now?" I ask avoiding their eyes to try and ignore the looks I'm getting. Thankfully my question seems to break them out of their shock and Thor manages to answer.

"Now it will be announced to Asgard and you shall return to Midgard where we will discuss the course of a wedding on Earth then the one on Asgard. We will not tell the Avengers that you are marrying Loki, all we shall tell them is that the All Father has found another solution. You shall then marry Loki on Earth though he will be disguised by his magic, the same day you shall leave for Asgard and be married for time and all eternity here. After the wedding you shall have your month alone." Thor states surprising me a bit with the fact that we wouldn't be telling the Avengers. But I can't marry Loki straight away as that'll look suspicious to the Avengers.

"When will we be getting married?" I ask, trying to figure out how to plan the wedding on Earth and the dating between me and 'Not Loki' to convince the Avengers.

"As soon as you are ready to be married, though I suggest that you make it soon." Thor says glancing at Loki who looks away from him. I come up with a plan quickly in my head and I know exactly what to do.

"Can Loki come with me to Earth?" I ask and the shock on their faces isn't at all surprising considering their reaction earlier to us kissing though they still don't know about that yet.

"Why should he come to Midgard?" Frigga asks confused at where I'm going with this.

"Well, if you want to convince the Avengers that I'm not going to marry Loki because Odin has another solution then it makes sense that he should come with me but disguised as someone else. We could possibly get married on Earth tonight if we needed to without anyone finding out, and I can tell the Avengers after our honeymoon that I got married. That way they won't be suspicious and whilst I'm gone Thor could tell the Avengers that there was a solution found. Anyway I was supposed to out with friends from college tonight so it could work." I suggest and they're all nodding in agreement and so begin planning for having the wedding tonight on both Earth and on Asgard.

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**Okay I didn't realise how short this one was until I put it on here so I promise to make the next one longer! WHat do you think will happen if the Avengers find out about Toni getting married? How will they react? You're going to have to read the next chapter to find out! (By the way I've been writing each new chapter after posting and updating each of them so bear with me if some of them take awhile!).**


	5. Chapter 5 A Wedding?

**Avengers Tower**

"What's taking them so long? Shouldn't Thor and Toni both be back by now?" Clint asks, bored out of his brain as they watch yet another horrible comedy show. Cap sighs in frustration as another of his sketches is interrupted and answers him.

"We don't know what Thor was going to talk to Odin about so we can't say when he'll be back and Toni did say that she would be back very late, so it could be any time when they both back." He says as he rubs out yet another mistake he's made from Clint interrupting his focus, he's really starting to get annoyed with him.

"Toni didn't make it very clear where she was going, for all we know she could have gone with Thor." Widow states, causing everyone to pause in what they were doing looking at her.

"I hadn't thought about that." Bruce says, setting down his newspaper on the table and looking up at her with new admiration clear on his face. "You are very observant Natasha." He then blushes at what he just said and Clint starts cracking jokes at the two of them until Natasha levels him with a raised eyebrow. Honestly, she liked Bruce but with Loki as a threat and Toni always going by impulse that almost always caused some type of damage, there is no way that she is going to let her marry Loki, not in a thousand years.

They're all disturbed from their thoughts as a loud thunderclap sounds directly above them in the quiet night and Thor appears on the Helipad walking towards the Common room. He seems to be worried about something and appears to be muttering to himself but his voice is too low and quiet to be able to tell what is being said. This behaviour is nothing like the usually loud and grinning god who always breaks one of Toni's glasses wherever he goes. His abrupt change in behaviour immediately sets the others on edge.

"What is it Thor? Is something wrong?" Cap asks, setting aside his sketchpad and art supplies to walk up to the god who suddenly seems surprised to see the other Avengers in the room.

"What? No of course not. Everything is fine Captain." Thor states whilst looking around the room, looking concerned. "Has the Maiden of Iron not yet returned?" Thor asks, surprising them, they'd expected her to be with him after Natasha's comment.

"She wasn't with you?" Natasha asks suspicious about his behaviour. He turns to her a look of shock and confusion on his face as he answers her.

"No, why would the Maiden of Iron be with me? I am just concerned that she has not yet returned." They look at each other in surprise and Natasha's suspicion is now turned to concern over Toni.

"JARVIS do you know where Toni is?" Natasha asks looking up at the ceiling. Despite being told countless times by Toni all of the Avengers automatically look at the ceiling whenever they talk to him.

"Mrs. Stark does not wish for you to know of her current location at the moment." JARVIS's disembodied British voice responds sounding almost as bored as Clint if that is even possible.

"Wait did you say Mrs. Stark?" Bruce asks, having been the only one to have picked up on the change in title for Toni. They all look up at the ceiling waiting for an answer and they assume that he must be communicating with Toni to be taking so long with his answer.

"Yes I did." He finally answers offering nothing else most likely needing to be questioned over it to answer.

"Why?" Clint asks this time, "Did she just get married and decide to keep her maiden name or something?" He asks laughing at the end of it, obviously thinking it impossible for Toni to settle down and get married.

"Yes, she did actually." Clint abruptly stops laughing and they all turn to look at each other, all of them equally shocked.

"JARVIS call Toni now, I don't care what she's doing just call her." Cap commands in his Captain America persona now. They hear the ringing of the phone and only have to wait two rings before it is picked up.

"Hello?" Toni's voice comes through the speakers. She sounds annoyed and surprisingly tired. Cap glances at Widow before speaking.

"Hey Toni, where are you?" Cap asks awkwardly, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm on my Honeymoon Cap where do you think I am?" She snaps taking them all aback.

"Whoa, what's got you all snappish?" Clint asks his face displaying his complete shock over her reaction.

"Maybe the fact that you just interrupted a very romantic moment between me and my husband?!" She responds still sounding very displeased with the conversation as a whole.

"When and who did you marry Stark? I thought you were going to marry Loki?" Natasha asks suspiciously.

"That is none of your concern _Natalie_." Is her response and she flinches back, Toni only ever called her that when she was very angry and she's not quite sure what she's done to peeve her off so she's going to have to be careful. "I was going to marry Loki if it was necessary, but Thor found me a while ago when I was with my friend and her adoptive brother and told me that another solution had been provided for dealing with Loki so that I don't have to marry him, then my husband promptly proposed to me as soon as he heard that and I said yes. Now leave me alone!" She practically yells at them and is about to end the call before Bruce manages to cut in.

"How long will you be gone Toni?" He asks calmly, trying not to aggravate her any further. The others relax somewhat, Toni can never be angry with Bruce so it's best that he does the talking now.

She sighs deeply and for a moment they think she's cut the call when she speaks. "A month or maybe more, I'm not entirely sure. I'm sorry for getting angry with you, but you didn't really start my day off very good this morning and I was finally feeling happy when you called." She says a lot calmer than before which relieves them a bit but also makes them feel guilty about what they said to her that morning.

"We're very sorry about that Toni, but before you go how is your heart?" Bruce asks, still slightly worried about it after what happened that morning.

"It's fine Bruce, but thanks for asking. You don't have to worry about me okay? I'll call you guys when we're going to come home, but I won't be coming on any missions at all until at least after I come back okay?" She asks and they all nod before they realise that she can't actually see them so Cap answers for them.

"Very well Toni and we are sorry about what we said this morning, have fun on your Honeymoon and we'll be sure to tell Director Fury that you'll be unavailable for the next few weeks." He says and they can hear her sigh in relief.

"Thanks guys, I just... need a break I think, then I'll be good to go. I better go now though, 'bye." She says and they all manage to respond with different versions of 'goodbye' before she hung up. Then they all turn to Thor who had been very quiet throughout the whole thing.

"I was not aware that she could get married so quickly." He says, his voice filling the silence. They all shake their heads in response before Cap returns to his previous worries.

"What has you so nervous Thor? We've never seen you like this before." He asks and Thor sighs very deeply before looking back up at them all.

"We have found a goddess who is willing to marry Loki, the All Father and I were wondering if you would be willing to attend the wedding tonight as extra security but also to witness what marriage is like on Asgard." Thor states, his eyes pleading for them to accept. They all nod and show varying emotions of excitement before getting ready and preparing to leave. Thor inwardly smiles to himself at how well Toni's plan is going so far, she hadn't wanted them to miss out on her wedding so she planned another way from them to see it without them being aware that she was the bride. Unfortunately they had had to miss the process of her becoming a goddess, but unfortunately there was two members of the Avengers who would undoubtedly reveal that information to SHIELD. Something the All Father could not risk. But at least they are able to witness it.

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**Okay I did say that this one would be longer, but then I thought that I should probably put in something to do with what the Avengers are thinking of the situation right now, but I've almost finished the next chapter so don't worry you'll get to 'see' the wedding!**


	6. Chapter 6 The Ceremony

A bride was always nervous on her wedding day, or at least that was what I have been told. Mum said she was nervous when she married Dad, and he did at one point admit being nervous on their wedding day, though he was drunk at the time, so I'm not sure whether to trust that one or not. The plan to deceive the Avengers into thinking she was married and yet still witness her wedding was currently working. The phone call had gone directly to plan and from what Heimdall told me the Avengers are completely unaware of Thor's act which is a major relief. Odin had allowed Loki to return to Earth with Thor keeping an eye on him so that we could get married. I immediately called Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey to tell them all about what was happening as they were the only people Odin gave me permission to tell. Pepper helped me find a dress and photographer for our wedding and we went to a priest who had been friends with my family for years and knew not to say a word about the wedding to anyone. I had signed my name and Loki had signed his as it is. We then quickly explained to the priest that Loki was in an orphanage and that they always called him Loki Laufeyson due to his mischief and when he was adopted the parents kept his name like that. It was a rather fun story to tell, even if it was a false one, but so far no one has seen through the lie.

The process of becoming a goddess was certainly challenging. Frigga had dressed me in a beautiful white gown with long sleeves that stopped at my wrists, it was decorated with pearls at the neck and a few diamonds along the hem. It was kept white so that when/if I became a goddess the dress would change to match the powers I would, apparently, gain so that they would know what name to give me. My Arc Reactor still shone through of course, emitting a blue glow at the top of the dress shining very bright due to my nerves and excitement. Odin and Frigga had both spoken to me about the process once again so that she would be prepared then I was led blindfolded to a room with a small pool full of clear water. Loki stood to the side of it dressed in dark green robes, his usual look but with a bit more detail and decoration, patterns on the robes displaying his magic in varying ways from swirls of silver to explosions that almost seemed as though they were moving. I'd been so mesmerized by it that I'd almost forgotten what it was I was supposed to do until Frigga place a hand gently on my arm bringing me back to the current time.

I walked slowly towards the pool and walked carefully into the water, so as not to splash any of it, before turning around to face them and allowed myself to fall gently backwards onto the water so that I laid on my back before closing my eyes.

The instant the closed I was flooded with the memories of my past. All of them, even the ones that shouldn't be possible to remember such as the day of my birth and the first time my parents ever held me. Every memory and thought I'd ever had came flooding into my mind. I'd been warned about all of this, but I wasn't quite ready to face Afghanistan again. The memories of that placed almost caused me to break the magic that was changing me, but I forced myself to fight the panic and accept the memories, that'd all be worth it in the end. If I couldn't accept who I was back then, then I wouldn't be able to accept who I am now. I saw every memory up to the point of walking into the water. Then a question entered my thoughts, something that I had not been expecting.

Who are you?

At first I wasn't sure what to do, but I went with what I knew of myself and what I'd remembered so that I could answer the question.

My name is Toni Eliza Stark, daughter of Howard Anthony Stark and Maria Stark, I was a weapons dealer who was selfish and cared very little about my actions until the consequences came later. I was kidnapped and forced to face the consequences of my actions. I became Iron Maiden. I am a consultant for the Avengers, I have saved the Earth from myself, my weapons, and an unknown enemy. I am Toni Eliza Stark, I am Iron Maiden.

As soon as I finished that thought I felt a wave of unexplainable peace rush through my body and every mistake I made every angry thought I'd ever had was washed away as though it had never happened. It made me think about what I was taught growing up Catholic about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, as long as you sincerely mean it and ask for repentance with a humble heart and contrite spirit it will be remembered no more. I have never been so thankful to have been taught those words. When I opened my eyes I could feel a distinct change. Not just in my spirit which had never felt lighter, but in my heart.

I stood up in the water and looked down at myself. My dress was now black with white and blue streaks of electricity running over it and over my body. All of my scars were gone as well, but something in my chest felt different. Looking down I could see that the Arc Reactor was still in my chest, but I couldn't feel any restrictions in my breathing, or my ribs grating against the metal cavity that houses the Arc Reactor. I felt whole with the Arc Reactor still in my chest, yet healed of the pain it caused me, my lungs are at their full capacity again, no more breathing issues.

It's a clean slate. I realised. I looked up then to see Loki staring at me in awe with Frigga and Odin standing next to him smiling softly. I walked back up the steps and take Loki's offered hand before being lead to the bedroom I am currently in now, preparing for the wedding. I'd thought that I would be free of all my nerves after going through the process of becoming a goddess, but I'm practically frightened for the actual wedding. I mean, I had been scared on Earth when we got married there, but I'm more terrified now! I wish Pepper could have been here to calm me down, but that would've been too suspicious so I have to deal with it on my own, unless Frigga helps me out.

They'd changed me out of the dress I'd been wearing before, so I'm now wearing a long floral dress with the same colours as on the previous dress, this one is just styled as a wedding dress which makes up the difference. It's a very beautiful dress, one that matches my eyes. Since we came back and I got a good look at myself in the mirror, I discovered that not only had my dress changed but my eyes had too. Instead of brown they're now black, white, and blue. Apparently this isn't normal according to the reactions I got from Odin and Frigga after we came out of the 'pool room' as I've deducted it. So I'll either have to wear contacts or try and come up with an experiment that went wrong and caused my eyes to change colour. No one think otherwise since it's me, but it's going to be pretty difficult to come up with something.

I'm taken away from my thoughts when Frigga comes back into the room. I stand up from where I was sitting and allow her to lead me to the vanity where she styles my hair so that I have I almost have a full French plait except that the back of my hair is kept down. We don't say anything for a while, contempt with the silence though I'm still playing with my hands from the nerves I'm feeling.

"You'll be okay," I look at her in the mirror surprised that she's speaking. She smiles at my surprise and continues plaiting my hair as she speaks. "Loki does care about you, you actually met him once when you were at MIT I believe." I stare at her surprised and she answers my unspoken question. "He'd gone to Earth for part of his education, he was to spend a few years at that school to compare the cultures of our world and yours. He had been interested in engineering and history and due to his intelligence had no problem with any of the work. That was when he met you." She says and I think I know of what time she was talking about and I smirk slightly at the memory. He'd been so convinced that he was the smartest engineer there until he met her. She immediately beat him down to a pulp with some of the things she built, they'd occasionally have competitions in class which always entertained their fellow peers.

They even dated at one point for quite a while, he'd even met her parents and surprisingly they'd both approved of him and had hinted at them marrying more than once. But then he'd had to leave and she hadn't heard from him again. He was still known as Loki Laufeyson but had a different last name that no one could identify. He'd been an orphan apparently and the only version of his last name was a bunch of symbols that no one could read. So everyone joked that maybe he was the real Loki. I laugh quietly at that, it'd be hilarious to see their faces if they ever did find out about the truth.

"We had quite a bit of fun there." I say quietly smiling to myself as I remember some of the pranks we used to pull on each other and fellow class members.

"Yes, he mentioned this when he spoke to us about you. He told us he'd fallen in love with you then and hadn't wanted to leave. We didn't know at the time that it was you that he'd fallen in love with. It's one of the reasons he didn't want to hurt you, and why he wanted to marry you and not the Widow of Black." Frigga says, removing her hands from my hair which looks elegant with the blue and white streaks of energy colouring it du to my nerves and excitement. At least I can control that to some degree.

"Why didn't he tell me before? I thought I recognised him when we met on Earth, it was weird when he tried not to hurt me, and when he offered up personal information... I think he was trying to get me to see it was him." I whisper as I think over our fight in the Tower. If only I'd realised it was him, maybe I could've changed the outcome of the battle.

"He was ashamed I think, that he'd hurt you. He's been in love with you since he left, the ring he gave you earlier today, he'd planned on giving it to you back then but he never had the chance." Frigga says and I look down at my ring with a new light in my eyes. I had wondered how he'd managed to get one that fit me so quickly and it's the type of ring I told him I liked, nothing too extravagant about it. He and I are going to have a long talk about this after the wedding.

A knock on the door has us both turning to see a guard come in and announce that it was time for me to come to the ceremony, and I don't miss the way his eyes widen when he takes in my appearance either. I stand up and take a deep breath, closing my eyes, allowing all the emotion inside of me to fill into it and release all of it into the air. I feel a reassuring squeeze on my hand and I smile nervously at Frigga before leaving the room where I'm lead by the guard to the entrance to the throne room. I wait a few moments and then the doors open to reveal hundreds or maybe even thousands of people staring at me, almost all of them I don't know or recognise, but I ignore them, looking up the isle at Loki who almost looks like he could be crying. I smile warmly at him before starting my journey down the isle towards my husband. I'd been given a bouquet before the doors had opened, they'd been clear crystal until my power flowed into them, causing them to become alight with the colours, red, gold, white, blue, and black. An interesting pattern of colours that somehow work together, showing who I was and who I am.

I keep all of my focus on Loki despite my nerves and panic over what is going to happen, I just focus on the love we'd had together and hope that it can be renewed. As I get closer I can see that he definitely shed at least three tears and we smile at each other nervously as he leads me to stand in front of him. A man presents himself next to us standing in the middle, but not separating us from each other, and the ceremony begins.

_The Avengers

The experience of arriving in Asgard using the Bifrost was certainly not... what any of them expected. As it turns out, Clint is very bad with portals as he almost threw up straight after arriving. The others all had varying degrees of green colouring their skin, even Bruce and Cap is pretty sure that that's not because of the Hulk. He can't even bear to think about what Toni would be saying if she were here, he shudders trying not imagine the type of jokes or blackmail she would come up with. Once Clint manages to get control of his stomach Thor immediately leads them towards the palace. To say they're impressed with Asgard would be an understatement, it was a truly remarkable place, something Steve is completely sure that even Toni herself couldn't come up with.

They're all dressed formally, requested by Thor and also carry no weapons, well at least Cap doesn't and Bruce has control of the 'Other Guy' but he's certain that Clint and Natasha both have some weapons hidden up their sleeves. Well Clint maybe, Natasha's long, black dress only had straps now due to having to rip the sleeves off when Clint accidentally set them on fire when he was messing around with some matches, she'd been unable to change or grab a cardigan before Thor called Heimdall for the portal, having only realised the problem when they arrived in Asgard. He promised that he'd find her a cardigan as soon as they arrived at the palace though she didn't seem outwardly too bothered about the situation.

As they walk up the steps into the palace, Cap begins to feel slightly unnerved by the Asgardians, most of whom were either staring, whispering, or pointing at them-the latter being the children. When they arrived at the palace, however, Thor was quickly told something by the guard and quickly ushers them into the Throne room through a different entryway than they expected, despite his promise to find Natasha a cardigan.

"Thor what's wrong?" Cap asks as Thor places them by the alter near Loki who was looking away from them towards the large doors at the end of the hall. Cap looks at him suspiciously, but seeing no threat he turns back to Thor who is looking in the same direction as Loki.

"We arrived later than expected, the Ceremony is about to start." He answers and just at that moment the doors at the end of the hall begin to open and all movement and speech disappears instantly. Standing behind the doors was a tall, breath taking woman. She wore a long black, blue, and white dress that seemed to crackle around her. Her hair and eyes also match her dress, the only thing that really stood out in her appearance were the flowers she was holding. At first Cap hadn't been able to see them until light seemed to flow into them, all them shining with different colours, red, gold, white, blue, and black. Each one of the flowers changing colour as she walked up the isle.

Stealing a quick glance at his fellow teammates he can see that they're all wearing the same expression, awe and amazement. All except Natasha of course who merely looked surprised though you had to squint to be able to see it. As the bride came closer Cap noticed that she wasn't looking at anyone around her, not even glancing at them. She was looking straight at Loki who looked as though he was crying which surprised him. He watched as Loki smiled nervously at the woman who returned the same, accepting his hand and allowing him to lead her up the last steps to stand directly in front of him. So that the Avengers could only see her back. Then a man appeared almost in between them but slightly behind. Cap watched in awe as he listened to what was being said.

"Today, we are gathered here to witness the eternal marriage of Loki Laufeyson and Eliza Elextra," Cap feels his brow furrow at the name, he hadn't expected a goddess to have a name like that, then again maybe that was normal for Asgard. "The God of Mischief and lies and the Goddess of Light and Energy. Both to be bound together for time and all eternity, never to depart or betray the other." Cap narrowed his eyes at that, he didn't trust Loki to keep to that oath, but he didn't make any other movement as the-Priest?-continued. "Both shall witness all memories of the other before accepting in marriage. Please remain silent as the process begins." As soon as he finishes, a blinding light appears around the couple, still holding hands, almost blinding him but he doesn't look away. Afraid that he might be in the wrong if doing so. He then frankly wonders where the brides flowers had gone when he spots them wrapping themselves around the arms of both the bride and Loki, almost tying them together.

The light remains for a few more minutes before abruptly disappearing. Loki can be seen panting rather heavily his eyes widely dilated, and Cap assumes that Eliza must look the same as her shoulders a rising and falling at the same rate as Loki's. He then looks back at the flowers which seem to have solidified around their arms. The Priest waits until they have both caught their breath before speaking once again. "Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief and Lies. Do you accept Eliza Elextra, Goddess of Light and Energy, as your Eternal Companion?" He asks, looking Loki directly in the eye, waiting for his answer.

After taking a deep breath Loki answers. "Yes, I accept Eliza Elextra, Goddess of Light and Energy as my Eternal Companion." The Priest then turns to Eliza.

"Eliza Elextra, Goddess of Light and Energy. Do you accept Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief and Lies as your Eternal Companion?" There seems to be an intake of breath in the room and Cap can clearly feel the pressure rise as they wait for what feels like an eternity for her to answer. Which in reality was only a few seconds.

"Yes, I accept Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief and Lies as my Eternal Companion." The breath is quietly released and a blinding light brighter than before, flashes around the couple then disappears as quickly as it came. For a moment nothing happens then both Loki and Eliza turn to face the audience and the Priest announces:

"May I present, the God of Mischief and the Goddess of Light United!" Then a whole chorus of loud cheering erupts that hurts Cap's excessive hearing. Cap joins in with the clapping as do the other Avengers, smiling happily, but still worried for Eliza. He watches her smile and hold Loki's hand tightly, both arms still wrapped in the flowers but no longer connected to each other, and freezes when she looks at him. Those eyes seem so familiar...

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**Hope you enjoy this chapter, I haven't written the next one yet due to being back at school, but I'll try and write it soon.**


	7. Chapter 7 Memories

I hadn't seen the Avengers when I came in, I was focused on Loki to keep my nerves down, so I was surprised when I saw them so close to me. I hadn't expected to meet Cap's eyes either. I felt a pang of panic as I could see a small amount of recognition in his eyes, but I keep my expression blank, no need to give him anymore clues than he already has. I look away from him to face the 'Priest' who's talking to Loki, giving him half of my attention as the other thinks about the Avengers and what they must be thinking right now. I'm pulled away from my thoughts to the Priest as he mentions something I hadn't been told previously.

"-your wife must be with child within the first few months of your marriage as part of tradition and to bind all remaining ties together between the two of you." He finishes and I stare at him in shock before managing to regain control of my mouth.

"What?" I ask shocked, he looks at me in surprise, probably unaware that I hadn't known about this.

"You were not told about this?" He asks me and I shake my head in response when Odin and Frigga walk up to us.

"We were going to tell her afterwards, we thought it best not to overwhelm you with too much information." Frigga says looking apologetic. I'm about to say something when I remember Cap and the other Avengers being near us. I turn around and Clint and Bruce looking anywhere but here and I can tell that they'd been watching our interaction carefully, my eyes narrow as I spot Natasha moving discreetly towards us with Cap by her side clearly trying to figure out what's going on from Thor who's standing near us, laughing slightly. I turn my glare on him which only makes him struggle to hold in his laughter ever so slightly and I end up giving up and joining him quietly. The Priest and Thor's parents quickly joining in to cover up what we'd been talking about from the Avengers, and I guess that they must have been speaking another language that isn't known or has been forgotten on Earth so that they wouldn't understand what was going on thankfully.

I hear Cap asking Thor what's going on and he gives an answer that I don't pay attention to as I think about what Frigga and the Priest just said. "When do we-when does the banquet start?" I ask trying to get away from any confrontation, however unlikely, and to distract myself. I look at Loki as we're led to the banquet hall and I can see that he's just as surprised and nervous as I am. But I'm not going to get pregnant without having a long talk with him first.

The banquet hall was already packed full of people by the time we got in, there was plenty of food, probably enough to feed all of New York for a week. There were toasts made and some gifts given from each of the Nine Realms which surprised me, I hadn't expected the Avengers to bring a gift. Though I expect Thor made them. Surprisingly the present is a communicator with a note saying 'Just in case you need any help' and I can see the double meaning behind the words. There's one for both of us and surprisingly they were made by Bruce to withstand any magic attempting to destroy or damage them. That in itself is impressive.

After a few hours, Frigga leads me and Loki separate rooms to change out of our wedding clothes before being taken to our new room together which has my nerves returning again. Once we're in the room and Frigga has left we both turn around and observe our surroundings. The bed is in front of us, the headboard facing us so that when we lay in the bed we'll be facing the overlarge window, that is basically a whole wall, overlooking the gardens at the back of the palace. On our left is a small library and small sitting area and to our right is a door leading to what I guess would be the bathroom and wardrobe area.

Curiously, I walk towards the bed to get a clearer view of the gardens and I can almost see the grove that we'd been in only a few hours earlier as twilight began to settle over Asgard. "Don't worry," Loki's voice causes me to jump slightly which gains him a small chuckle. "No one can see us. Only we can see in and out of this room. It was personally designed that way for us. This is our little space only for when we're in Asgard." I relax a little at his words, thankful that no one will be able to spy on us. I feel his hand on my arm and I turn to look up at him, he's five inches taller than me so I have to bend my neck back a little so I can see his face clearly. He looks like he wants to talk, but is unsure of what to say or how to start. I smile softly and lead him to one of the sofas by the library and sit down, making sure that we face each other.

"Why didn't you tell me it was you Loki?" I catch him by surprise with my question, and it takes him a few minutes to be able to respond.

"I... I didn't want you to hate me, I thought it would be easier if you didn't know it was me." He says quietly, his fingers playing with my hand, not sure what else to do it seems. I watch his hands for a few minutes, remembering the way he would do this when he nervous, play with mine or his own fingers, trying to decide what to say or do. It seems strange to see a gold ring on his left hand and two on my own. I'd never had much hope of getting married after he left. I grip his hand tightly in my own as I remember the day that he left.

_"What's wrong Loki?" I ask looking up from my book. I'm sat down at a picnic bench on the school grounds and see him looking nervous and upset. I immediately abandon the book and go over to him. Taking his hands in my own, watching as his fingers start to play with mine. Somethings wrong._

_"I'm... I'm leaving Toni." He says quietly looking down at our hands, not meeting my eyes._

_"Why?" I ask confused and a little hurt, scared that I'd done something wrong. "Have I... have I done something wrong?" I ask, almost afraid to look at him now._

_"What?! No! You haven't done anything wrong Toni!" He reassures me, looking appalled that I'd ever think such a thing. "You haven't done anything wrong, I just have to go. I can't say why, but I have to go, my parents–" I stops abruptly, realising what he said. I look up at him suspicious now._

_"You said you were an orphan." I say accusingly and he cringes at my tone and looks back at our hands._

_"I was given the name Loki for a reason you know Toni." I pull away from him and he looks up at me startled, and I know my expression is one of betrayal. I thought he wouldn't be like the others. "It's not like that Toni! I wasn't trying to get to you or anything!" He starts, unsure of what else to say. I shake my head and turn away from him, walking back towards my bag starting to put my books in it. Instead of stopping me like I thought he would, he helps me pack them and I look up in surprise. His expression is pleading. I cave momentarily._

_"Explain." I say abruptly. All emotion gone from my voice. He cringes slightly at my tone before sitting down on the bench sighing and putting his face in his hands before looking back up at me and explaining._

_"My parents are good people with a lot of power, they didn't want me to grow up being a spoilt brat full of himself like my brother is. So they sent me here under the guise that I was an orphan, that way no one would target my family in case they ever found out. But they want me to return home now since I've gotten all of the degrees I wanted. I don't know if I'll be coming back." That gets at me and I freeze, staring at him like he'd just admitted to being a murderer. He looks up when he notices my silence and immediately stands up and pulls me into a hug, I hold him tightly refusing to let him go._

_"Don't go." I whisper, he can't leave me not like everyone else has. "I love you." I'd always been afraid of saying that to anyone since I've always had my heart ripped out before I could. But now that he's leaving I'll say anything to make him stay. I feel him freeze in surprise before relaxing again and pulling away from the hug, I'm afraid that I've upset him when looks down at me, tears in his eyes._

_"I love you too." He whispers back his hands resting the sides of my shoulders. I feel tears fall down my face, he's the only one outside of my family to see me like this, I'm showing him how much I trust him hoping that it might convince him to stay. Seeing my plan clearly, he sighs and pulls me back into the hug an dI can feel him crying along with me._

_"Please... Don't abandon me too." I say my voice breaking at the end, he pulls out of the hug again and gently kisses me on my lips, I turn my head deepening the kiss holding him close to me, but unfortunately you have to breathe to kiss so we end up pulling apart and he's too tall for me to try and force another kiss. He looks at me placing his hands on either side of my head and speaking seriously._

_"I won't ever abandon you Tony. I love you and nothing will ever change that." There's no joke in his eyes or tone and I believe him. He holds me again and we stay like that for a while before he pulls back again. "We won't be able to contact each other where I'm going, but I'll come back I don't know when or how, or who I'll be then, but I will come back I promise." He kisses the top of my head and passes me my bag before kissing me one last time and leaving me there still standing there years later, wondering if he'll ever come back._

_"You came here every year to see if I'd come back?" I turn and Loki watching his retreating figure before looking at me._

_"Every year. Mum and Dad died a few months later which didn't help much." He looks at me ashamed._

_"I wanted to come back Toni, I honestly did, but Odin wouldn't let me and I had no way of convincing Heimdall to let me go. I'm sorry." He looks back down at his hands playing with his fingers, upset this time as well as slightly nervous._

_"I know. But it didn't make it any easier. But I never forgot what you said Loki, I still loved you even when I was dating other men. I just wish you told me before." I say in response. I walk over to him and take his hands in mine again, before looking up at him and whispering, "I'm with you for all eternity, I'm not going to leave you." He smiles briefly before bringing his lips against mine once more, this time neither of us will be leaving._

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**Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm currently writing the next one which may contain a little bit of drama with the Avengers. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8 Intruders

I wake up to the sound of the bedroom door opening. I sit up slightly in the bed and look out the window, it's still night who would be coming in here now and into our private room? I quickly glance over at Loki who's still snoring quietly, his tunic and trousers now folded in the wardrobe along with my dress which is hanging up. I hear voices and the door closing behind them. I can't risk a glance over or around the headboard of the bed, so I quietly climb out of bed and produce a nightgown over my body so that I'll be decent for whoever's there-Loki taught me how to do it before we fell asleep, just in case someone came in. I'm crouched down, still hidden by the headboard and the little wall that goes around the bed and I listen to the voices.

"Are you sure we should be in here?" The first one asked and it's male.

"I thought you wanted to explore this place? Anyway don't you want to know what's going on between those two?" A female voice this time and I instantly recognise it as Natasha's, so the previous voice had been Clint's. My eyes narrow, but I don't present myself just yet, wanting to know what they're doing here first.

"I'd rather go back to my room, this is not appropriate behaviour guys. Anyway I trust Thor, he wouldn't lie to us." I cringe slightly at the last part, but I'm thankful that at least Bruce has a conscience in this matter.

"I agree with Natasha, something was off by how they were talking, plus no one's seen them for a week–" Wait we've been in here for a week?! "So they may not even be here and Thor has been acting a little off since the day Toni left. Anyway we all agreed to this so there's no backing out now." Okay, well Bruce has a bit of a conscience but I know that he at least has good intentions, that is he's not going to try and steal information from me. I hear them move towards the bed and I duck down lower beside the bed and carefully change the colour of the nightgown around my chest so that the blue glow of the Arc Reactor isn't noticeable and that it just looks like part of the design. I hope the light from doing that wasn't too bright, but there's no sign that say saw anything thankfully. I hear someone come closer to the bed and the whispering starts again as they get closer. I quickly and quietly crawl under the bed, which actually hurts a little due to the Arc Reactor, just as one of them makes their way around the miniature wall around the bed.

"Hey, Loki's here!" Clint whispers and I hear the others come closer to the bed at his statement. "He's asleep, thank goodness." And there's a verbal sigh of relief, I hear the click of a torch and light shines in the room probably over where Loki is laid. "Oh gosh, I hope he's not naked under there!" I have to hold back a laugh, yes he was naked because apparently Asgardians don't have PJs, as I picture Clint's face if Loki found him in here. He'd be thrown off the rainbow bridge, but Thor would obviously catch him before anything majorly bad could happen to him.

"Clint, Thor didn't even know what PJs were when he stayed at the Tower, what makes you think Loki will also know about them?" Bruce says, Clint groans and the others laugh quietly and I have a lot of trouble trying to keep mine under control. It was true, the first night Thor stayed at the Tower he had to be introduced to PJs. It was an interesting conversation.

"Okay enough with the laughing lets get what we came here for." Natasha says, ruining the moment and I'm instantly on edge again. What could they want from him? And how haven't they realised that I'm missing yet?

"Wait, where's his wife?" Cap asks, finally! I can feel their worry in the air and the situation becomes tense very quickly.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom?" Clint suggests worriedly.

"I doubt it, but wherever she is, we don't want her finding us here." Natasha says quickly and I take this as my chance to intervene. Using my power, I quickly disappear into energy and reform in front of the window by the bed.

"No you don't." I say sternly, my voice and appearance startling them. They stare at me frightened and shocked, most particularly Natasha who's only showing annoyance on her outward appearance. "What are you doing in here?" I ask, making my voice slightly lower so that they won't be able to tell it's me. They're all surrounding the bed and looking very guilty right now.

"We... came to place a tracker on Loki for SHIELD do that they can keep track of everything he does." Cap says, the only one able to actually speak. The energy around me flares with light as do my eyes and I'm guessing my hair too, from my anger and my eyes narrow at them and they all visibly gulp.

"No one is putting a tracker on my husband now leave the room before I force you out. I'll talk to you all about this in the morning." My tone stating the finality of the conversation causes them to leave the room quietly and I remove any traces of trackers from Loki. After I'm sure he's safe I go to the door and place energy molecules around it so that I'll feel if anyone comes into the room again, before going back to bed and curling up next to Loki and falling asleep again.

When I wake up the next morning I'm surprised to see Loki already awake beside me his hand stroking through my hair. "Good morning Mrs. Stark." He says quietly and I give a small laugh. Due to Loki's background on Earth, we thought it'd be best for us to just use my maiden name for the public so that they wouldn't think it was actually him I was married to on Earth. His hand continues to stroke through my hair, so gently that I almost fall asleep again until I remember what happened last night. "Ugh." I groan as I think about what I'm going to have to do to deal with the Avengers and SHIELD when I see them. He looks at me confused and I quickly explain to him the events of the night. By the time I'm done he isn't very impressed and looks as though he might throw them all off the rainbow bridge and I'm sure that even Thor wouldn't be able to catch him.

"I'm going to talk to them today. So don't throw them off the bridge please." He thinks about it for a moment before sighing and nodding at my request. I smile back at him and rest my head back over his heart contemplating what I'm going to say to them. His heart beat is steady and it's rhythm probably could lull me to sleep had the door not opened. Loki sits up, causing me to remove my head from his chest, and clothes immediately covers his body when he stands so that he can see who came in.

"Avengers." He says curtly and I quickly emerge from around the bed wearing a red dress. They look nervous when they see me and I have to force myself not to smirk, the less the see of my habits the better.

"Loki," Cap says his voice slightly harder than usual. "Your... wife wanted to speak to us."

"I am aware." Is Loki's response and he motions for me to follow him towards the sofas. After a glance towards me, the Avengers follow and I motion them to sit down. I feel Loki's arm slide around my waist, pulling me closer to him so that they can see we're not against each other in any way. "Why did you choose now to come in?" Loki asks and they look at him confused.

"Thor said you were up and that we could go in, why did we interrupt something?" Cap asks and I quickly use my powers to pull up a light/energy barrier around the bed as they look towards it so that they wouldn't see anything.

"No we weren't," I say and their attention turns back to me, though I can tell they're suspicious about what we were doing now, but I'd rather not have them think we weren't up and dressed. "we just didn't realise the time." Even though I never gave a time for them to come and Thor never told me that he'd be sending them in. I'll have to talk to Loki about to see if he knew anything about that. "When did you tell SHIELD that you were attending Loki's wedding and why did you choose to bring the tracker?"

They all look uncomfortable except for Natasha who's just annoyed that she didn't get the tracker on him before. I narrow my eyes at her and send a minor electric pulse through her body, causing her to jump and look at me in shock along with the other Avengers and Loki. She narrows her eyes at me, hoping to intimidate me and I send back a glare rivalling all of Fury's and my power spikes up around my body. I can feel my iris's darkening to black and they all look at me scared. Bruce is the first one to brave speaking.

"Is everything alright?" He asks me and I turn my gaze to him, softening it so that the Hulk won't break out into the room. He relaxes at my change in attitude but his question lingers in the air.

"Depends who you ask." I say finally, his response confusion. "Unless the Black Widow answers my questions the situation is dangerous. It will calm down depending on how I feel about her answers." I finish and I turn my gaze back to her. Her face remains impassive to the others, but I can see the fear she's hiding underneath. She may be able to fool Clint and possibly Fury but she can't fool me.

"Fury was informed of the wedding when I went to prepare myself for the wedding. He ordered me to take a tracker and place it on Loki at the first opportunity. We do not trust him to remain on Asgard with you without making an attempt at destroying our world again." She says seriously, authenticating the authority she feels she has in her voice. My expression turns cold and dangerous at her words and Cap quickly cuts in before I can speak.

"We mean no disrespect," He starts, shooting a quick warning glare at Natasha who gives him one back. "But we don't know you personally to have complete trust that you can control Loki." He finishes, his face apologetic. Loki stiffens at my side at the mention of control. I turn to see him frozen, his face dangerously pale and anger hidden in his eyes. He's caught in the memories of being controlled by some other being. Just hearing the word 'control' can set him off I remember as some of his memories come into my mind. Not entirely sure what to do, I grip his hand tightly in mine and transport the Avengers outside to the grove I'd been in only about a week before. Then I turn him to face me directly before putting both my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at me. "You're not there Loki, you are in control of yourself, I won't ever control you I promise." His eyes soften and his features relax as the memories recede. I quickly pull him in for a kiss before holding him to me in a long hug of comfort. His body shaking as the memories of his torment wrack through his body.

Avengers

"What did I say?" Cap asks no one in particular, looking around at the grove they appeared to be trapped in. He wasn't sure what he'd said, but whatever it was had made Loki turn cold and he'd seen Natasha instinctively pull out her gun that she 'wasn't supposed to have'. He was afraid that Eliza-did he even have the right to call her that?-would kick them out, but she hadn't appeared to have noticed as she'd looked at Loki and fear appeared in her eyes before some light-energy and erupted around them and they'd suddenly found themselves standing in the middle of a grove.

"I don't care what it is you said, but I don't trust anyone apart from SHILED with Loki, not even anyone on Asgard, except perhaps Odin. I do not trust 'Eliza' with him at all. We need to get back in there now." Widow says, her expression dark and furious.

"Okay, while I usually would agree with you Natasha, I don't really agree with you on this one. We don't know what it is that set Loki off and if you can't tell, we're stuck in here. How are we supposed to get back up there, we can't even see their room!" Clint says annoyed, honestly sometimes Widow could be way over the top with some of her training and decisions sometimes. Natasha turns her glare on him.

"We don't know who she is. There's nothing in Norse mythology that ever mentions a goddess named 'Eliza Elextra', she could be an imposter and I don't trust her with Loki." She says sharply, daring anyone to question her.

"No, the reason you don't trust her is because of her reaction to you. You were disrespectful in the way you spoke to her Widow and I'd have reacted the same way she did if I were her after the way you challenged her. Odin personally picked her to marry Loki, I'd think he'd be very thorough in checking for an imposter." Bruce says sharply, shocking the rest of them especially Natasha, but none of them went against him as they could see the green in his pupils and the slight tinge of it appearing on his skin.

"I agree with Bruce," Cap starts and Widow turns to stare at him. "You were disrespectful to her and our behaviour last night was not appropriate, Bruce advised against it and if I'd realised that we were going to their private quarters, even if it was a week after their wedding, I would not have agreed to it no matter what Fury wanted us to do." He says firmly.

Natasha stares at them. All of them had turned against her. They were against protecting their own planet just because it involved going into a bedroom? She'd thought that at least Clint would be on her side after she convinced the others. She'd tried to get in there a second time by saying that Thor had told them that they could go in, but unfortunately they'd both been awake. It seems like she can't trust anyone now.

"Well I can't say I trust you either now." They all turn and are startled to see Eliza standing in front of a hedge, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Cap swallows and is about to explain when she raises her hand stopping him.

"I heard the entire conversation Captain, and I can read you all very easily. I do not control Loki. He controls himself, and no one will ever control as long as he lives." She says her voice stern. Steve steals a glance at Natasha who looks angry, surprising him a bit.

"How can we trust you? We don't even know you and your name is nowhere in Norse history." She says angrily, glaring at her.

"You should be careful what you say to me _mortal_." She puts emphasis on the last word and Cap can tell it's an insult for Natasha. "I was once human. I was chosen to become a goddess after Odin's time on Earth. I've been friends with Loki for many years, I was chosen to marry him so that there be no conflict between you and Toni. How ironic it is that she doesn't marry Loki yet does at the same time." She says and they all stare at her completely confused.

"I'm sorry but we don't really understand what you mean, and how do you know Toni?" Bruce asks politely.

"Toni married my mortal brother. Our parents named him 'Loki Laufeyson' accidentally, when he was born so he went by Toni's maiden name when they got married last week. We had a good laugh about it at the wedding. But if you want to trust then you're going to have to start showing me some respect Black Widow. Otherwise you're going to find yourself in a situation you've never want to be in." Cap looks at Widow, confused as to what Eliza means, and sees her looking paler than usual.

"You couldn't." She whispers, her voice showing her fear for once and that immediately has the entire team worried.

"I can, but only if you or anyone else tries to put a tracker on my husband or myself again. Now I believe it's time for you to go, Thor is waiting for you outside to take you back to Earth." Almost immediately after she finishes she disappears and the hedge behind her disappears to reveal an entryway with Thor standing in it, not looking very impressed with them.

"Thor-" Cap starts but he silences him with a look and they let him lead them back to the Bifrost and return to Earth.

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**Okay, I wanted to have a bit of team drama for this one as well as Loki being caught in his past, so this is what I came up with, I hope you liked it!**


	9. Chapter 9 Avengers meet Not Loki

**Avengers**

"It's been over a month since Toni got married, when is she coming back?" Clint complained and promptly had a cushion thrown at his face from Natasha who was trying to read.

"You know Toni, rich, billionaire that doesn't like doing work. She's probably putting off coming back as long as she can get away with it." Cap says as he finishes sketching Bruce and Natasha sitting together, their hands incredibly close to touching. He wonders if they'll ever get together.

"I'd say she probably wants some privacy from both SHIELD, Avengers, and the Press as they still don't know she's married yet." Bruce says, and they silently agree with both Cap's and Bruce's suggestions, as they know Toni doesn't like work but hates the press more when it leads to something very, very personal.

"Probably both really, what do you think Thor?" Natasha asks seemingly distracted by her book. She still wasn't happy with them for not agreeing with her on Asgard, but she was a lot more social than she was before. It took Clint a full week to get her to talk to any of them. Thor hadn't spoken much either, but anything could be on the god's mind for him to be quiet. He was probably thinking about Loki and his knew sister in-law.

"I believe she may come back today or late tomorrow, I do not think she will stay away much longer." He says quietly, seemingly distracted by the letter in his hand written in a language that none of them could understand.

"Is something wrong Thor? You've been really quiet lately." Cap asks, looking up at where he's sat on the floor. He looks up, a little surprised at the question.

"Yes, I am fine. The letter is from my family, I will be returning to Asgard sometime in the next few weeks for personal reasons." He says then puts the letter in his trouser pocket-they were very surprised when Thor started wearing modern clothes instead of his usual robes-before announcing that he will 'be in my quarters' and leaving the room.

"What do you think that was about?" Clint asks from where he's now lying fully stretched out on the couch so that his legs are near Cap's thigh.

"Don't know, but he'll probably tell us if he thinks it's important." Cap says and starts a new sketch of the room. After a few minutes he's done then blinks in shock when he sees what he's drawn. He'd drawn the whole room from his view point, but in the picture are two people just coming out of the elevator, one of them is Toni the other is a man that he doesn't recognise. As he stares at it, trying to figure out where it came from, he's startled when he hears a voice behind him speak up.

"Wow, you were right Toni, he really does have an eye for detail." Everyone in the room jumps-well, Clint actually falls onto the floor in his shock-and Cap immediately spins around in his seat to see a man with short black hair looking over the top of the sofa with Toni standing next to him, laughing at their reactions.

"I told you, I'm always right remember!" She exclaims through her laughter and everyone just stares at the couple as they try to figure out when they came in. After regaining control of herself Toni moves around the sofa to sit down next to Cap, pulling along the man that was with her, who he thinks must be her husband.

"How long have you been in here Toni?" Cap asks bewildered, not able to use his normal manners due to his shock.

"About 15 minutes. I'm surprised you didn't notice us since you drew us on your sketchpad." She says in response and Cap notices something different about her, she looks happier for one thing, but there also seems to be a bit of a glow to her. But he writes that off as just being from the Arc Reactor. Then he looks at her eyes. They're... blue.

"Toni what happened to your eyes?!" He asks in shock and Toni looks at him confused, as do the others until they see her eyes and their jaws drop-except Natasha's, she just stares, her eyes wide from shock. Realisation flickers on Toni's face and she quickly explains.

"Oh that! Right, sorry, well I invented some contact lenses that can change colour depending on mood or blood pressure, but there was a small... explosion. So they're now permanent in my eyes and seem to have bonded with my DNA too according to JARVIS's scans." She says, and she now looks very sheepish, the man beside her just chuckles quietly to himself.

"A small explosion Toni?" He says and she groans at him as he continues. "You practically blew up the entire lab! I'm surprised you got away with your life and just a few minor bruises!" She groans again as do the others, though they all chuckle a bit as well Toni could be so reckless most of the time.

"Toni, do we need to go over 'Lab Safety 101' again?" Bruce asks, shaking his head in dismay while Toni just puts on a pouting face and hugs her husband to hide her face as she continues to sulk. Cap sighs and then turns to the man.

"So, I don't believe we've met?" Cap starts and the man turns to him and chuckles slightly.

"We 'technically' have. My name's Loki Laufeyson-Stark. I believe my sister mentioned me to you." Cap stares at him for a second before chuckling.

"I see your humour is similar to Toni's." Cap says still chuckling.

"I bet you must get some odd reactions when you're applying for a job." Bruce says, with a smile on his face.

Loki rolls his eyes laughing. "You have no idea. Lately I have to keep explaining that I'm not actually 'Loki' to people, it's crazy but understandable. Handing in my CVs I always mention that I'm not actually the real Loki so they don't reject them immediately. Though that happens anyway." His smile drops a little, but comes back again when Toni speaks.

"You can always come and work with me." Her face now reappearing as she looks at him. He chuckles and kisses her head.

"I know I could honey, but I think it's be better if I wait before trying for another job since your fight with Loki wasn't so long ago and we don't want anyone to know you're married remember." She sighs, resting her head back on his chest again. "Besides, there's going to be enough talk about your eyes the next time you're in public." Toni groans again as she mumbles something along the lines of 'Breaking News, Toni Stark has a twin with blue eyes' causing them all to start laughing.

"So what do you work as?" Bruce asks curious. Loki laughs, his laugh rich and full of life.

"I have almost the same amount of degrees as Toni, but she still has more. I work as an Engineer or Mechanic, depending on which one can get me a job first. But Toni's right, I can easily get a job at Stark Industries, but my name isn't likely going to be in my favour for any reason really." Loki says a small smile playing on his lips. Then he looks down at Toni who appears to be falling asleep. "I'd better get this one to bed, travelling by Bifrost can be quite exhausting." They stare at him for a second and he bursts out laughing. "I'm joking! I guess you now see the problem with my name." He continues laughing as he leaves the room carrying-a now sleeping-Toni in his arms.

* * *

**Another short one I know, but I have to get to bed so I don't have much time to make it longer and I wanted to post another chapter today anyway. Hope you like it!**


	10. Chapter 10 Loki's New Job

I wasn't aware that I'd fallen asleep in the Common room until I woke up on my bed a few hours later, Loki laying beside me reading a book. He looks up when he feels me move and smiles at my expression. "You fell asleep on me Toni, I didn't use any of my magic on you, besides travelling by Bifrost can be pretty exhausting." He laughs at my scowl and just pulls me closer to him effectively removing my scowl by the warmth and comfort of his presence. I curl up closer to him, contempt to just sleep like this, despite the fact that I'm still in my jeans and T-Shirt I'd been wearing when we left Asgard. "Are you okay though?" He asks, surprising me and I look up confused. "You've been very sleepy lately, I don't know if that's due to the wedding and Honeymoon put together as well as becoming a god, or if you might be pregnant. I can't really tell which one it is." I stare at him, slightly shocked. I hadn't thought anything about it, I wasn't even aware that he'd noticed any of that.

"I don't think I can get pregnant though." I say quietly and I looks at me concerned.

"Why not?" He asks me and I turn my gaze down towards my hands, afraid of meeting his eyes.

"The Arc Reactor, before I was healed it left me with some issues. Some of my organs, including my heart, were moved during the surgery. My Doctor had a look at them when I came back from Afghanistan, he said that because of the position they're in and how pregnancy effects a woman's body, that I might not be able to get pregnant as it could cause some major issues to my health." I glance up at his face, and to say he was surprised would be an understatement. I don't know how to describe his expression other than shocked and I can tell he's slightly-okay more than slightly-upset about it. "I'm sorry." I whisper and I turn onto my side away from him, tears forming in my eyes.

I feel his hand resting on my arm and I pull my arms in closer to my chest over the Arc Reactor, the tears unwillingly rolling down my cheeks. He turns me over, forcing me to look at him. "It's okay." He whispers pulling my into his chest and wrapping me in a type embrace, causing me to relax as the tears pour down my face. "We can always adopt remember?" He reminds me, causing me to laugh a bit which brings a smile to his face. "You'll be okay Toni, and just because you can't have children doesn't mean that I love you any less." He whispers in my ear making me smile in relief. We stay that way for a few minutes, waiting for my tears to stop, contempt with our little moment. I can feel a headache behind my eyes from all the tears and lack of water which I try to ignore.

"Mr. Stark, may I suggest that you acquire a glass of water for Mrs. Stark as she is quite dehydrated." JARVIS's voice suggest, startling us both.

"Thanks JARVIS." Loki says both sarcastically and thankfully which is a rather odd combination. He removes his arms from around me causing me to sigh unhappily and I clamber off the bed after he's gone, deciding to take a shower to wash away the sweat and salt on my body from the crying and trip down here. It's a relief to stand in the warm water, despite my fear that it's going to try and drown-which doesn't exactly make sense but that's what PTSD does to you-that I stay in for longer than actually necessary before turning off the water and grabbing my towel.

Once I've made sure that I'm completely dry I grab my PJs and put them on, thankful that they don't cling to my skin like they do when I'm still wet from the shower. Going back into the bedroom I'm surprised to see Loki holding a tray of food and drinks. I smile at him as he leads me to one of the sofas and places the tray on the coffee table in front of us. The tray has an arrangement of my favourite sandwiches and veg's dips. There's two bottles of water and one of sprite for us to share. I smile and we begin the meal quietly with me leaning against Loki who has one arm around me. We don't speak throughout the meal, our thoughts speaking all the words we could never say to each.

_'We may not be able to have a family ourselves, but that won't stop us from trying to have one.'_

_'I still love you, everything will be fine, but how long do you think it'll be before they realise who I am?'_

_'Not long, I just 'can't wait' for the Press to see my eyes and find out I'm married to 'Loki'.'_

_'That will certainly be interesting. I just hope that they won't find out that you can't, well have children. I don't want them to hurt you through that.'_

_'Me too. We should probably go to bed, I'm back at work as both an Avenger and at SI so I'm going to need sleep.'_

_'Okay, I'll come with you tomorrow, I'd rather not stay here with the Avengers alone as it may be awkward. I still need time to return to my previous life on Earth.'_

_'Maybe you could come as my new bodyguard, I've been meaning to get one for a while.'_

_'That will be a lot easier than dropping off CVs. I'll start tomorrow I guess. We should probably get to bed now Toni.'_

I just nod, smiling a little before standing up and pulling him towards the bed, the tray and drinks already gone from the room and to their respectable places in our kitchen. As Loki's about to strip, I quickly grab his arm and he looks at me confused. "I think it might be a good idea if you start wearing PJs Loki, I tend to have visitors in the morning as I usually sleep in." He smirks and nods his approval, grabbing a pair of navy shorts and changing into them choosing to leave his shirt off. I raise my eyebrow at him and thankfully don't stare at his 6-pack that every male Norse god seems to have. The first time I saw it had been rather embarrassing as I found it difficult not to stare. Loki smirks at me again and rolling his eyes at my expression, then climbing into the bed. I climb in next to him and rest my head above his heart feeling its warmth and falling asleep to its beat.

* * *

**Loki**

'BEEEP-BEEEEP-BEEEEEEEEP! BEEEP-BEEEEP-BEEEEEEE–' My hand hits the source of the offending noise and my mind distinctly supplies the word 'alarm clock' before I swiftly fall asleep again.

**-3 hours later and Toni's late for work-**

"Why didn't you wake me up when it went off?!" Toni yells at me as she hurriedly gets dressed. I have to prevent myself from helping her with her dress as she'll just slap my hand away since she's angry.

"I didn't realise it was your alarm! JARVIS never mentioned it and I fell asleep before I could even realise what it was!" I exclaim, feeling very sheepish and trying to avoid making her angrier than she already is. She just glares at me as she tries to zip up her dress and put her hair up at the same time. I sigh, I know she's incredibly intelligent, but sometimes she can be really silly. I go up to her and sort out the zip issue, she surrenders allowing me to do it whilst putting up her hair. Her eyes are black and blue at the moment, a sign of her frustration with me at the moment so I avoid saying anything that could upset her. She grabs her bag and walks out of the room talking to Pepper on the phone saying that she's on her way. I follow her out dressed in a dark navy suit, similar to Happy's who's Pepper's bodyguard, as Toni and I thought it would be best that I come in navy until I am 'officially' hired as her bodyguard even though she can easily look after herself even when she wasn't a goddess.

We pass by the Common area as we make our way towards the elevator, the room being full of the Avengers who are all currently eating on the sofas. I raise an eyebrow at them, genuinely surprised by there manners and the Eye of Hawk as Thor calls him, just grins. I don't see Thor anywhere which is a bit of a relief, we thought it'd be best to avoid each other until it becomes easier for him to act around me, anyway we were promised a month without any contact from my-his family so he'll have to disappear soon to make it easier. Walking into the elevator Loki tries not to feel nervous as they move down to where Toni's meeting is being held and his first task of protecting her, though she has told him that it'll probably be quite boring.

Once we reach the designated floor, we're met by Pepper and Happy who both give me a brief smile before Pepper immediately jumps into business mode with Toni making comments every so often. I copy Happy's stance at standing next to, but a little ways behind, Toni or in his case Pepper as I am not entirely familiar with this type of job. I follow them keeping an eye on everything going on around us and receiving a few stares in my direction as well as Toni's which reminds me, her eyes will be a different colour now. Once we reach the conference room I instinctively move closer to Toni as about eleven people suddenly surround her a few of them speaking to her at the same time yet she's managing quite well.

"Ms. Stark where have you been? Nobody has seen you for over a month!" One of them asks, looking very bossy and I glare at him for his rudeness causing him to step back a bit, but Tony doesn't appear to be bothered though her eyes could say otherwise.

"I have been away for personal reasons and I am no longer CEO I am not required to be at every meeting anymore Evensdeth." She replies curtly and turns away from him.

"We had been told you would be coming in this morning. Yet as usual you are late." Another man states looking unimpressed and frustrated. I keep my face collectedly calm as I allow Toni to take control over this one.

"Someone destroyed my alarm clock this morning so I woke up three hours late." She replies with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice and they can all hear it too. He looks at her surprised to find that it wasn't her fault I believe.

"Who is your companion?" Another older man with grey hair and dark brown eyes asks looking at me suspiciously.

"This is Loki Laufeyson–" She starts before they all burst into a panic and start yelling insanities at her and attempt to get out of the room except when they see me, standing at 6'4, guarding the only exit and fixing them with a glare at them. "SHUT UP!" Toni yells, shocking them all to silence. "His name, and do NOT interrupt me, is Loki Laufeyson-Stark. He's my husband." If they had all still been yelling they wouldn't have even breathing after that comment. In fact, I don't think they are actually.

"Your-your husband?" One of the men ask in shock and disbelief.

"Yes..." Toni sighs and gives me a look that says we'll talk about this later. "The reason I've been away is because I was on my Honeymoon. We didn't want anyone to find out either so I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone about this at all, especially not the Press, until we reveal it ourselves." The threat in her voice could clearly be heard and I knew that none of them would tell anyone in fear of finding out what she'd do if someone does leak it out.

"I do not mean to be rude Ms. Stark, but are you wearing contacts?" A female, this time, asks trying to lighten the mood and I'm actually surprised to see another female over than Pepper and Toni to be in here. Toni turns to her and she smirks in response.

"I was wondering when someone was going to ask me that. Well I was experimenting with contacts to see if I could make them change colour depending on blood pressure and emotion. They worked but then there was a small explosion-" They all roll their eyes at that and chuckle a bit, clearly knowing Toni well enough to know that it wasn't a 'small' explosion, thankfully the tension in the room has disappeared. "-and so my eyes are permanently like this. I can control the colouring, the varieties are black, white, and blue, so far there hasn't been any other colours. But I can't revert them back to my natural colour unfortunately, so you'll just have to get used to them." She moves towards the table and sits down near where Pepper is patiently waiting for them all so that they can start.

Once the meeting starts everything settles down apart from a few minor arguments. The reaction to my being Toni's husband seemingly forgotten, but I can see it in their eyes and how they occasionally glance up at me. Surprisingly, this wasn't as boring as one expected, with Happy keeping check on one side of the room and me keeping an eye on the other as well as the doorway kept us both entertained as we had the chance to study each person in the room.

At length the end of the meeting came and they all began to shake hands and talk happily amongst themselves whilst Pepper requests to speak to Toni privately in her office. I follow Toni, Pepper having no issue with me coming along as Happy also follows along. Once we're in her office and Toni turned off all the cameras and Happy locked the door do we all relax somewhat. "What's wrong?" Toni asks immediately. Pepper chuckles but somewhat nervously and I have no doubt that Toni didn't notice it. Pepper looked at Happy, who's standing right next to her in front of the desk, and squeezes her hand in comfort.

"Well... happy and I are going to get married and we want to start a family so I was wondering if you could return as CEO for your company." She says nervously and Toni stares at her for a few seconds before grinning widely.

"Congratulations guys, that's fine Pepper, it's just going to be an interesting meeting with the Board and the Press are definitely going to go crazy over this, but as long as you're happy I'm happy." She says and goes over to give Pepper a hug, Pepper smiling in relief.

"I'd like to announce it tomorrow if that's alright?" Pepper asks as they break the hug, Toni nods and smiles brightly before suggesting we all go get some breakfast. Pepper and Happy leaving first and I top Toni before she heads out the door. She looks at me, the pain clear in her eyes and I pull her into a hug before kissing her gently. Pepper's mention of family reminded her of what she can't have and that's something that can hurt deeply.

"It'll be okay." I whisper to her and she nods against my chest before composing herself and leaving the room, after turning the cameras back on of course. I shut the door carefully behind me trapping the conversation in that room for no one else to see.

* * *

**I hope you like this chapter! It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do with Loki, but I eventually found something! :) By the way, for those of you who are waiting for the Avengers to find out that Loki really is well Loki, it's not going to be for quite a few more chapters depending on how the chapters go.**


	11. Chapter 11 Going Home

For about four months work continues as it was my first day as Toni's bodyguard, nothing excessively exciting happens aside from Toni being made CEO again, and getting called out with the Avengers despite the fact that she's suddenly been putting on weight and having to adjust the suit somewhat as well as her clothes. We don't know what it is and after the scandal of the Press finding out we're married-someone 'accidentally' let it slip and faced the consequence of being fired-as well as her eyes changing colour. Some have suggested that she may be pregnant which isn't helping her emotional state. Of course we have already thought of it and her Doctor has examined her as well as JARVIS and a few Asgardian physicians, but other than missing her course a few times and her belly expanding, there is no sign of her being pregnant. They tried looking for other things such as cancer-even though it shouldn't exist for her now-but nothing has been coming up, in fact they can barely get her 'vitals', as they call it, up since she became a goddess.

We're both concerned, well Toni's more worried as she keeps being pushed about by the Board and Press because we can't figure out what's wrong with her. The Avengers help where they can, the Black Widow has been a bit harsh but excessively kind towards her due to her obvious signs of stress and the occasional breakdown. Thor is searching on Asgard for anything that might help or explain what is happening, but so far has found nothing. The Captain has now removed her from as many missions as possible for fear of her being hurt or killed so that she is mainly mission control. Bruce tries to help her with her sudden breakdowns by showing her different breathing methods for her heart and relaxation positions she can easily do in her case. Clint is generally more helpful than the others surprisingly, including myself. Continuously distracting her from the problem with pranks and new gadgets she could make. So far all I am able to do is keep Fury in the dark about Toni's condition seemingly getting worse since we all agreed it would be better if he didn't know what was going on with her as no-one wants to find out or even think of what SHIELD would do to her.

So due to stress and another breakdown from Toni, I've decided it was time that we left the Avengers for a few months and possibly go to one of Toni's homes or back to Asgard for some time alone. Which is how the Avengers walk in on us packing in our bedroom, well I'm packing and Toni's resting after throwing up on me which was not a fun experience.

"What're you doing Loki?" Cap questions whilst Natasha goes over to Toni, who's laying down on one of the sofas, to see if she can be of any help. The others come in, including Thor which surprises me.

"I thought you were still in Asgard Thor." He sighs deeply and shakes his head, indicating that he hasn't found anything. We all sigh in frustration whilst Toni starts crying again, having seen Thor's response. Bruce goes over to comfort her with Natasha singing a quiet lullaby in Russian, we all smile to ourselves at the sight. Lately Bruce and Natasha have become closer and none of us can wait for them to finally get together. Cap clears his throat expectantly and I remember his question that I was trying to avoid for a while.

"We're leaving," Those two words causing everyone to freeze in place, even Natasha who stops her singing. "We think it would be best if we just went off on our own for a while and try and sort things out. It will hopefully help Toni's mental and emotional health. I just want to get her away from the things that are stressing her out right now." They all look at each other, all wearing different variations of sadness and uselessness.

Cap looks at the others before nodding his approval. "Do you need any help with the packing?" Clint asks and comes over to help anyway without waiting for an answer. I smile to myself as Thor and Steve-as he insists I call him that now-help with the packing while Bruce and Natasha entertain Toni to certain degrees. We'd become more of a family in the past few months, Toni and myself occasionally coming as Eliza and well, myself, to visit Thor. They were all tense around me and I didn't offer up any information including habits or favourite food in order to prevent any more suspicion from them. They'd taken those days rather well, though Clint and Natasha were still defensive around me and all of them were a bit scared of Eliza but warmed up to her after getting to know her a bit.

I sigh quietly to myself as I think about what would most likely happen when they find out that I really am Loki Laufeyson. It's not a matter of 'if' as it is inevitable that they will find out. Even Toni agrees, we're just trying to find the best way to prevent any major mishaps from happening when they do find out. Sooner than I anticipated , all the packing is done and I go over to Toni who now looks scared. I take her hands in mine which rest over her stomach, allowing them to fidget over hers, letting her know I'm nervous as well. She gives a small smile and I kiss her forehead before using my right hand to support her back as she sits up.

It's a slow process getting Toni to stand up as she's exhausted from a long night with nightmares, some of which I know are my fault from when I attacked New York. She wobbles on her legs and Steve helps me support her as she tries to regain her balance. Once she has we lead her to the wheelchair waiting outside the bedroom door that Bruce brought up earlier per my request. There's no way I was going to allow Toni to walk when she's like this. Once she's sat down, Widow starts placing blankets over her legs and stomach to keep her warm and gives her a jacket to go around my blue shirt that she's wearing. Once she's ready I stand behind the wheelchair and start pushing it towards the elevator with Bruce and Natasha at my sides in case Toni needs something. The others having already gone down to the car with the luggage. We're still not entirely sure where we're going so we decided to let JARVIS drive the car to where ever he thinks it is suitable for Toni to be.

I decided against Asgard during the packing as Toni won't want to be in an unfamiliar place right now so I have a feeling that we're going to Malibu where Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey all are. Pepper and Happy are now married and Rhodey's currently off of military work to be in California for a few weeks. None of them actually know about Toni's condition as it hasn't been very high up in the Media thankfully, but unfortunately stock prices have been dropping here in New York due to it which is another reason why we're leaving. The less the Media and Press know about Toni's condition the better.

When we arrive at the car Natasha and Bruce both remove the blankets from around Toni and I easily, but carefully, lift her out of the chair and into her seat before stepping back and allowing Bruce and Natasha to cover her with the blankets again. I walk around the hood of the car to the drivers side where the others all offer their help should it be needed and good luck. I thank them before getting into Toni's Audi-that doesn't have her name on the licence plate so the Press don't follow us-and driving out of the garage and out of the city before I let JARVIS take over the controls. I glance over at Toni and see her crying again, I take her hand in mine-still keeping an eye on the road-and give it a squeeze.

"Go to sleep Toni, I'll wake you up when we get there." I whisper she nods seemingly more to herself than to me, but it isn't long before she falls asleep and I return my attention to the road and ask JARVIS to give me the controls again so that I can take my mind off of the situation. If only we knew what it is that's making her sick.

* * *

I don't know how many hours passed when we arrived in Malibu, but I was amazed at Toni's home when I saw it. It was... I don't actually know how to describe it. It wasn't as brilliant as homes in Asgard, but it was certainly close. JARVIS told me that he would take the car down to the garage once I stopped in front of the entrance. Well I assumed it was the entrance, it was mostly glass so I'm not exactly sure where the door is. Toni's still asleep and had been for almost the entire drive, only woken up for a few toilet breaks and some food. Other than that, she'd been generally quiet, only offering a few comments on the food or bathrooms and occasionally the weather. I know she's still upset and scared, I want to help her but I don't entirely know what to do.

Looking towards the entryway I ask JARVIS to keep an eye on Toni whilst I took the bags to the bedroom. He complies and helps me find my way to the bedroom after getting lost too many times than I'd like to admit. When I enter the room I'm slightly surprised to see how plain it is. The bed is almost opposite the door with the wall next to it being complete glass running the length of the room and providing a beautiful scenic view in the twilight. The bed is white with no decoration other than the bedside drawers on both sides with lamps. The walls are a soft blue and turquoise with spots of white, I realise after staring at it for a few minutes that it's a Mural of the ocean outside and the sky. I stare at it in awe until JARVIS reminds me that Toni's still in the car and starting to wake up.

I run out of the room and manage not to get lost on the way to the car where I can see Toni stirring. Once outside I go around to the passenger side of the door and open it quietly so as not to startle her. "Toni. Toni, wake up honey we're here." I whisper quietly but loud enough that she can hear me. She turns her head towards me her eyes trying to focus. She stares at me for a moment before recognition comes over her face and she starts rubbing her eyes in a way that is completely adorable for her. I lean forward and unclip her seatbelt and slowly moving it back to its place before loosening the blankets somewhat and carefully lift her from her seat and out of the car. JARVIS shuts the door for me and starts turning the car around and driving it towards the garage.

Toni remains still as I carry her easily up the stairs and to our bedroom where I lay her out on the bed, her body instantly relaxing on the familiar surface. She looks around her room, taking in the familiar setting. I sit down next to her my back facing the general direction of the doorway and watch her carefully. Her blankets are still resting on top of her looking rather heavy so I lift them off and lay them at the end of the bed before turning back to Toni. She looks exhausted despite the fact that she hasn't done anything since she woke up. Whatever's wrong with her has left her exhausted and she can barely get out of bed every morning without some form of assistance. I just wish that I could figure out what to do to make her feel better if nothing else, at least help her in some way emotionally.

Sensing my stare Toni looks at my worried-upset expression and gives me a small smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes due to the exhaustion. I place my hand on the side of her face and she leans into it gratefully. Apparently, it seems, all the help she needs from me is to just be there for her and support her. I return the smile, silently thanking her for answering some of my concerns. "Do you want a shower?" I ask quietly and she nods almost minutely. I stand up and go over to the door that I think leads to the bathroom. Thankfully it does and I'm glad to see that there's at least a chair in the shower for her to sit down on. Memories of Toni having a broken leg or being too weak to stand in the shower come into my mind allowing me to understand why exactly she had it installed.

After avoiding the water and pulling the shower curtain around so that it doesn't spread, I go back into the bedroom I'm surprised to see Toni sitting up facing the window-the glass now black-and trying to take off her, well _my_, T-Shirt. I laugh at the sight and Toni glares at me momentarily before sighing and allowing me to take it off. Once off it is clear to me how big her stomach had become and I couldn't resist resting my hand on it. It felt warm... and full of life, nothing that should be killing her. I stare at it for a while before Toni's hand comes to rest on mine. I look up at her face and for once she's showing me how scared she is instead of trying to make it seem as though it's not bothering her when it is. She looks positively terrified so I hold her gently, pulling her into my chest so that she can feel the comfort.

When I think she's calmed down enough I release her from my hold and help her stand up and help her to strip then lead her into the bathroom to the shower. Once she's sat down in the shower I pull the curtain completely across to give her some privacy as she's still self-conscious about the Arc Reactor. Leaving the room I empty the suitcases and start placing them in their designated areas. Once all the unpacking's done, I take Toni's previous clothes to the laundry and leave them there until it's full enough for me to do a wash. Then I set of fresh, clean. PJs on the bed before returning to the bathroom where I help her to stand up and wrap a towel around her-after the water had been turned off of course. Once in the bedroom I dry her down and help her into her PJs and dry her hair at the dressing table, brushing it lightly. Once I'm sure that she's ready for bed I pull back the covers on the bed before picking her up and laying her down on her back and return the blankets to rest over her body.

"Thank you Loki." She whispers quietly and I give her a quick peck on the lips before going to the bathroom and washing myself down in the shower. My shower isn't long, but not short either. I keep it at a medium time allowing myself some pleasure from the hot water relaxing my tired muscles. Despite being a god, looking after someone's needs 24/7 as it has become recently is mentally, emotionally, and occasionally physically exhausting. But I won't leave Toni to look after herself when I have more than enough power to help. One of the other reasons that we left. I can use my powers without exposing myself and Toni which will help immensely now that we're alone. Though for how long remains the question at hand.

* * *

**So I hope you likes this chapter, and for those of you that are curious, the Avengers will find out who Loki is in the next few chapters depending on what I write. What do you think about Toni's current condition? What do you think it is? PLease comment/review, I should hopefully be posting some more chapters tomorrow if I can.**


	12. Chapter 12 Disasters

"Toni, seriously just have a go, it's not that difficult." Toni scowls at me, it would've been cute and I would have laughed, except that she's been in a bad mood most of the nearly three months we've been here and I don't want to be turned into energy again.

"No, last time I tried it I ended up in your parents' room in Asgard and you remember what happened that time." I cringe at the memory, I'd tried to get Toni to teleport into the living room from the bedroom as a way of distracting her from her condition. But she'd overestimated her power and somehow ended up in Asgard, and I only found out because Odin brought her back. I don't know how she ended up in their room, but at least Frigga had been reading whilst Odin was overseeing the vineyard otherwise he may have thought her an intruder and blasted her accidentally. At least with Frigga she has some sense.

"Come on, it'll be fine this time." I say trying to be optimistic. Toni glares at me and I try not to gulp, she can be really scary when she wants to.

"Famous last words Loki." She says before closing her eyes and clenching her fists. For a moment, I'm afraid that she won't be able to do it when she suddenly disappears. I press a finger to the earpiece in my ear that Bruce gave us on our wedding day, waiting for Toni to speak. We decided that we'd use them this time so that we'd be able to find each other, after Toni checked that the Avengers wouldn't be able to spy on us through them.

"Toni?" I ask, becoming slightly panicked that she hasn't responded yet.

"I'm in the garage Loki. Dummy! Don't touch the–!" I hear a crash through the earpiece and wince, Dummy's going to be in a lot of trouble momentarily. I wait for Toni to return to the living room, I know better than to go down there as I'd rather not be the next target of her wrath. After about half an hour of Toni yelling at Dummy and a few minutes of apologising to the Bots, Toni finally manages to teleport to the living room.

"See? I told you it would be fine." I say, albeit a little smugly. She glares at me again before sighing and sitting down next to me on the sofa, resting her head on my chest and her arms around her bulging stomach. We'd both hoped that it would start to shrink or change, but it's just gotten bigger every week. The continual growth has Toni scared as well as her sudden mood swings, though that's really to be expected considering what she's going through. Neither of us have left the property since our arrival, occasionally going for a walk outside when Toni can manage it or just sitting on the beach and talking. Some of the nights have been really romantic leaving us both happy for a few hours and very rarely, a few days. We've had the occasional fight as is expected with a newly married couple due to our habits being almost complete opposites and our opinions on films so abstract it's a wonder there isn't a war going on between us sometimes.

Work has been interesting. Toni's obviously still having to go to meetings at Stark Industries down here and not in New York, but now the Board are thinking of removing her due to her condition worsening. Toni's obviously against it, claiming that it doesn't really affect her work or input to the company. In most cases it doesn't, it only does when she's exhausted from being unable to sleep. The Board just want to start making weapons again, but without Toni's approval or any of her family's (which only consists of me) then it is impossible for them to do anything about it. There have been a few attempts on her life when she does go to work, since her enemies think that she's now an easier target. But they've quickly learned not to come against her when I'm around as it is completely certain that her attacks won't be making it to the trial in most cases.

"What are you thinking about?" I suddenly hear her ask, surprising me. I look down to see her blue/white eyes looking up at me expectantly.

"Mm... I'm just thinking about all the things that have happened in the past three-well nearly three months." She nods and I can tell that she's tired despite it only being 3 o'clock in the afternoon. "Do you want to go to bed? We do have work tomorrow and by my guess, it's going to be a very long day." She chuckles slightly at my tone before sitting up and successfully managing to teleport into the bedroom. I follow her into the bedroom and help her undress. She doesn't like me helping, due to thinking that it's a burden for me when it's not she just doesn't seem to understand that.

"Thanks Loki." She whispers as I tuck the blanket around her. I smile and kiss her forehead then sit down next to her and grab our book that I'm reading to her. I don't know when it was that I decided I would read to her, but it seems to help her sleep and feel better so that's always better than nothing. We're reading Pride and Prejudice for the second time as it is one of Toni's favourites. Currently we're at the part where Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the first time so consequently Toni's now excited as she likes the argument that goes on between them which I can understand as it is hilarious later on when Lady Catherine de Berg comes to refuse consent to the marriage. I smile to myself before starting to read out loud.

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**Avengers-1 Day later**

"Has anyone heard from Toni and Loki lately?" Cap asks suddenly, causing the others to look towards him and away from the comedian show that they're watching.

"No, why?" Bruce asks as the others turn half of their attention to the TV and to Cap who's staring at something on his phone.

"Someone switch the channel to the News now!" Cap orders, a frightened look on his face causing them all to become suddenly nervous. Bruce does as he asks and they all freeze at what they see. Part of the Stark Industries building in Malibu, California has completely collapsed in on itself and from further study that only those with training can spot, they realise that a bomb has caused the collapse.

_"Just under an hour ago, a bomb went off in the Stark Industries R&D department where it is said that Toni Stark was in a meeting with other scientists when the bomb went off. Mr. Loki Stark was outside the building due to receiving an inside voice that a bombing was planned and so there is no news as to whether Toni Stark or anyone else in the R&D department has survived. Police and Firemen are currently working to unearth most of the rubble in search of survivors, but many are beginning to wonder if there is any hope at all due to the extensive damage caused from the bombing. Stay in tune for more as–"_

They turn off the TV and immediately all run to grab their gear before meeting in the Quinjet that stayed at the tower and fly at full speed towards California.

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**I know I'm being cruel leaving you all on a cliff hanger like that but I haven't had time to do any writing, though I'll try and do some tonight and it's holidays next week! So I should be able to get some more done. PLease review and tell me what you think, I would really love the feedback!**


	13. Chapter 13 Hydra

Avengers

"Who did it?!" Clint demanded the nearest Policeman who looked shocked to see the Avengers in California and at Stark Industries. It takes him a moment to grasp what's going on so that he can speak looking very flustered. Clearly a newbie.

"W-w-we d-don't know sir!" He stutters and cringes away as Clint's face darkens in response, the other Avengers are currently helping with searching for survivors, leaving Clint to find out what he can about the bomber.

"We believe it was a suicide bomber sir." A higher ranking police officer comes up, pushing the younger one behind him whilst holding out his hand. "Sergeant John Jameson. I'm running the investigation." Clint takes his hand stiffly shaking it before letting his hand drop to his side.

"What information do you have on the bomber?" Clint demands, avoiding the pleasantries as his best friend could very well be dead under all that rubble.

"We have footage showing an unidentified person breaking into the R&D department four minutes before the bomb was set off," He starts, leading Clint to a van showing the footage. "He was spotted by security who immediately sent men after him. Unfortunately he had a head start and had clearly been trained for work like this. He escaped security and set off the bomb outside the door to the meeting room, killing him and the men following instantly. The bomb somehow set off other bombs that had been put into place causing the collapse. It is still unknown how it happened." He finishes, watching Clint closely as his eyes darken as he watches the footage of what the Sergeant Jameson told him. Then he spots something on the feed as it is replayed. Something on the man's sleeve.

"Stop!" He yells, startling the man at the computer and the Sergeant. "Move it back." He says, staring intently at the screen. The man at the computer immediately does as he says moving it back until Clint stops him, taking over the computer and zooming in on the sleeve of the man. There on the sleeve, almost impossible to see if you didn't know what to look for, was a symbol.

**Hydra**

Clint pushes back from the desk and runs out of the van, almost falling over as he knocks into another, the Sergeant yelling after him. He runs straight towards the Avengers at full speed ducking and dodging when necessary. He's out of breath when he reaches them and promptly interrupts Loki who's giving his account of what happened.

"It's Hydra!" He gasps, hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. The others stare at him in shock, Natasha being the one to ask their question.

"Are you sure?" She asks, her tone deadly as her memories of Hydra resurface.

"Absolutely, they had footage of the bomber, it was small, almost impossible to see... but the symbol was on his clothes. Also someone placed bombs around the building... which is how it collapsed." He says now more in control of his breathing. They all turn to Loki whose expression is blank, but they can tell from his posture that he's furious. His fists start to shake slightly as he tries to get a grip on his anger. Cap places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, looking up into his face-because Loki is 2 inches taller than he is.

"We'll find her Loki and no matter what the outcome is, we will Avenge her." He says seriously. Loki nods before walking away to continue helping with the rubble. The Avengers soon follow suit, as there is nothing else for them to do except help and pray to Thor-who's currently in Asgard-that Toni's alive and alright.

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**Another short one I know, but I want to have a build up for what's about to happen. SO making it tense is the best way to do it. I hope you like it!**


	14. Chapter 14 72 Hour Packs

**Okay, usually I don't put Author's notes up here, but earlier today I received a review from a Guest that made me and my sister laugh so much, I kept looking at it during class before school finished because I absolutely loved the words they used, so thank you Guest user for the review! I was already part way through the chapter, but I finished it with new energy thanks to you. So this chapter and the next are for you! (I've just started the next chapter so please be patient, but it will be from Loki's point of view and I'll try not to leave _too_ many cliffhangers as my sister finds then annoying when I haven't written the next chapter). So anyway to the story! I hope you like it!**

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**Toni**

I'm not sure what I ate at Lunch but I'm certain that it's going to come back up. I groan as my stomachs contents threaten to come up, I try to force it down but end up throwing it up anyway. I groan and roll onto my back away from the sick. I can hear someone talking but I'm too tired to open my eyes and my belly feels as though it's been kicked a billion times over. The voice keeps getting louder as I try to block it out, but for some reason it won't leave me alone. I turn my head away from the voice, placing a hand over my stomach as it flips uncomfortably. I groan in again due to the voice that seems to be talking in my ear. I don't want to wake up, just leave me alone!

Another voice enters into the mix, then another and at that point i just can't stand it anymore. My eyes fly open and my hand makes contact with someone's face. I hear a loud cry of pain and I know that I hit my target: the nose. Someone then comes into view, a dark skinned woman with brown eyes and black hair holds my hand and starts speaking to me softly. I relax at her voice, it's comforting almost as though she's my mother singing to me after a nightmare. I watch her lips as I try to figure out what it is she's singing but it's hard to focus when my stomach keeps doing flips. After what I think is a few minutes, my hearing seems to return to its full and I begin to make out what the woman is saying to me.

"-you're alright, don't panic you and your baby are okay, we're not going to hurt you." I stare at her for a moment as I wait for my brain to process the words. Safe? Am I safe? I'm pretty sure I remember someone yelling about a bomber coming up towards the meeting room, but I'm not sure. They're not going to hurt me, so clearly they thought I was panicking instead of being annoyed, so that clearly means that something bad did happen, most likely the thing about a bomber. But baby? I'm okay and the baby is too? I'm not pregnant! I can't get pregnant or I'm not supposed to anyway! I'm not pregnant, am I?

"Wha-What happened?" I mumble as I try to grasp where I am. The woman sighs in relief, and I suddenly recognise her as one of the scientists I was talking to before the... explosion?

"Someone attempted to kill you by having a suicide bomber come in, with a bomb obviously, and set it off outside the meeting room. We were given a warning beforehand and managed to get to the safety room just before it went off. But we think that the building may have had a collapse since some of the ceiling collapsed. Something hit you pretty badly during the explosion, I don't know what it was but you've been unconscious for the past three hours." I stare at her in shock, my brain absorbing what I was just told but not entirely comprehending it. Usually someone wouldn't unload that amount of information onto someone who's been injured, but I can tell that she's scared and I suddenly remember her name being Sarah.

"Loki... where's my husband?" I ask slightly panicked. If Loki's not with me then things could end badly in here. Sarah glances at someone behind me, but I can't see them due to still being laid down on my back.

"He's... not here. He left the room a bout five minutes before we received the warning, don't you remember?" She asks me, worried. I do remember I'd just hoped that that part wasn't true. I feel true panic seize my heart now. Loki had the earpiece that allowed us to communicate with each other, it had been hurting my ear keeping it in for so long that I'd taken it out and given it to him. I'd thought that since we were in the same room it wouldn't become an issue, but then he left and I forgot to take it from him and if I can't contact him...

"Mrs. Stark calm down please, you're safe, I'm sure they're all looking for you. You'll be okay. Your husband wasn't in the building during the collapse. He's fine and so are you and the baby." Sarah says supporting my back as they-her and another woman-help me to sit up so that I can see where we are. That's when I realise what she'd been saying. She'd been saying I was pregnant again.

"I'm not pregnant." I say looking at her. She looks surprised as does the woman next to her who looks at me concerned, she's slightly paler than Sarah and has brown hair and black eyes only slightly different from her.

"You're not pregnant?" Someone behind her asks, a man with white skin, blond hair and green eyes. I feel slightly uncomfortable that he asked me this question and I feel Sarah's hand rest on my upper arm in comfort and support, calming me down slightly.

"No I'm not. I can't get pregnant for medical reasons." I say, not wanting to give too much information to him. He looks suspicious and I now notice the smeared blood on his face and shirt, seemingly coming from his nose, I guess he was the one I hit when I was waking up. The others in the small area-consisting of another two men slightly older than the blond, in their early thirties I think-stare at me surprised and slightly concerned over me.

"Is it... Is it appropriate for us to ask why?" One of the men asks, his hair black and has jade coloured eyes. All the men are wearing suits as well though his is a navy instead of black. I'm sure that there had been more people in the meeting room, but maybe they got out of the building before it collapsed or maybe they're...

I stop myself there, I can't think of them being dead, shaking my head to clear my thoughts I look back up and answer the man's question. "I guess, I can tell you some of it." I start, sparing a small wary glance at the other man who seems to stand out from the others. "My Arc Reactor... caused some shifts to happen with my organs when it was out in my chest, and as you'll all know, when a woman is pregnant her organs tend to shift to different places in the body as the baby grows and her heart rate will increase." I pause, making sure I'm not going to reveal too much about it that could be used against me. "When I returned from Afghanistan and my doctor examined me, he-he told me that I wouldn't be able to have children as a baby could cause more problems with my health and with my heart how it is... I would have a high chance of dying when I went into labour. It's not safe for me to get pregnant, I'm not even sure if I was able to have children before Afghanistan, so either way I can't have any. As to why I look like this, it is unknown. We have no idea what's going on with me at the moment."

It's incredibly silent after I finish my little medical speech. Sarah and her twin-I'm certain now that they are twins but I can't remember her name-are looking at me with understanding and I'm glad it's not pity. Pity is the one thing I can't stand. The men look sad-except the blond. He seems to be annoyed at something.

"Darn it." He whispers angrily and everyone turns to look at him. Noticing the attention he quickly changes his expression to one of disgruntlement, so fast that I'm sure I'm the only one that saw it. "I had a bet going on saying that you were pregnant, seems I've now just lost." He explains, but I don't trust him. The fact that he felt he had to change his expression feels somewhat off to me. I make a mental note not to let him get too close to me.

I look around, observing what's left of the room we're in. The corner of the wall next to the door has completely caved in, unfortunately blocking the exit with rubble that came down with it and into the room. Fortunately that seemed to be the only misfortune in the room other than all the dust that came in with it. I'm in the middle of the room and I know that directly behind me are the 72 hour packs hidden behind the wall that I store in all the emergency rooms just in case and I have no doubt that we're going to be in here for a few days minimum.

Slowly I pull my legs closer to my chest and start to push myself up with my hands. Sarah, seeing what I'm trying to do, takes my hand and pulls me up with her twin supporting my back with her hand. They don't question what I'm doing which I'm thankful for. Once my balance returns, I turn around and walk straight towards the wall, one arm resting on my stomach which feels more uncomfortable than it was before but I blame that from when I fell over after being knocked out.

Once at the wall I allow my hands to search for the manual release button to push it open. After a few minutes I manage to find the latch and pull it up before leaning with my left shoulder and pushing against it. Sarah and her twin come to help me as do the others when they see the wall move slightly outwards. It's exhausting and the pain in my stomach isn't helping either, causing my body to start shaking and sweat to appear on my skin. When we finally push the wall into the new space I'm relieved to see that all of the gear I stored-which is still up to date as I restocked it a few weeks ago-is still there and seemingly undamaged. I almost collapse in my relief, but thankfully the two men that I do sort of trust, catch me before I can hit the floor. The one that spoke asks permission to carry me and I give a small nod, suddenly too tired to do much else, and he carried me to one of the cots lining the wall that I'd almost forgotten were there. He lays me down gently, almost as good as when Loki does it, then steps back to allow Sarah and her twin-I seriously need to remember her name or at least ask-to pull a curtain around the bed and help me to undress out of my ruined, long black dress, and take off my shoes too leaving me in a singlet and pants. I tell them where to find the clothes in the 72 hour bags and Sarah goes to find some. I take this opportunity to ask her sisters name. It's Kate, she tells me and smiles. It's the first time someone's offered me a genuine smile when we're officially introduced and I smile back in response.

Sarah returns and helps me into some sweats as Kate supports me then they move onto the shirt-they'd had to get one of the men's ones since the women's ones most certainly won't fit me now. Neither of them spare my Arc Reactor a glance, which I'm very thankful for as I don't like people staring at it. Once I'm changed they help me lay back down on the bed, I give brief instructions about what's in the 72 hour bags and what they should and shouldn't use. They both listen closely before Kate goes and retrieves a small flask of water for me to drink and a small bag of raisins to eat. I take both gratefully and finish the raisins almost as quickly as the water, not realising how hungry and thirsty I was. Although my stomach doesn't seem to be satisfied I manage to relax more than before.

My eyelids begin to droop my exhausted body making itself clear. Sarah and Kate place a warm blanket over me before going outside the curtain and allowing me some privacy as I fall asleep. I immediately miss Loki and I want him with me to help me to sleep like he always does with his presence. I feel tears fall from my eyes, "Loki." I whisper to myself and I don't care that I'm crying, I've gotten used to my sudden mood swings over the past few months but I know that this one isn't a mood swing. This is desperation and fear and exhaustion over the situation. I eventually feel my consciousness to slide away and sleep over come my body.


	15. Chapter 15 Unexpected

**Loki**

28 hours. 28 hours 42 minutes and 58 seconds. That's how long it's been since Toni and I were separated. I haven't been allowed to do anything other than help move the heavy rubble and try and call Toni's phone in case she had it with her, but so far I've had no luck. I could probably teleport to where the room is, but I don't want to get trapped, unable to teleport out again. Without being able to teleport I'm practically useless. If I try and use my powers to help out, there will just be panic. No, better to just try and wait it out for either contact or a find. If there's immediate danger then I'll try teleporting. I remember that Toni told me there was a safety room in the meeting room just in case, but I don't know where it is or how to get to it. Darn it! Why didn't you ask for clearer instructions?! Toni could be hurt or dead-NO! She can't be! I'd know! I'd know!

I press my hands to my head as I try to relieve the ongoing battle in my mind. 37 hours of no sleep does that to you. How did Toni manage to go days without food or sleep? I wonder, it's so exhausting, even for a god! "Ugh." I grumble as my headache begin to worsen, if only it was possible not to think! Then my issue would be solved, no anxiety, no pain, no headache... but no Toni either.

Tears fall down my face and I can feel the other Avengers in the room watching me, I don't care that they can see me crying, I don't care that I'm allowing them to see behind my mask, I don't care what they'll think. I just want Toni back.

A hand suddenly resting on my shoulder startles me, and I look up to see Nick Fury standing next to me. Seriously, when did he get here? I examine his face and for once I can see true emotion in his eyes. He misses Toni as well, despite their verbal sparring, he misses her. He misses her backchat to him, he cares about her and is sorry about what's going on. Whoa! I never thought I'd see Fury look like that, I bet Toni would make a joke or something about it, I smile slightly before remembering that Toni's not here, that she could be gone forever. The tears start up again and I rest my head on my arms with no thought of pride or suspicion coming into my mind to make me do anything else.

We're currently on the Helicarrier since Fury called us up asking for an update on the situation. SHIELD has been helping with the search before they even arrived, sending out agents and machinery to assist with the search as well as sending some to Hydra bases that they've found so that they can get to the bottom of the situation. Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Captain America went to the one they have the most belief contains the information they need, but returned empty handed, as have the other SHIELD agents that have returned. We're still waiting on one more group.

So far, all my hope has been strained with every disappointment that we receive. Currently there have been 22 survivors found, but none with any information on Toni or the people with her. As well as 52 who have also been found, but all of them dead, crushed by the weight of the building as they had little or no warning that there was a bomber in the building. Toni will be crushed when she finds out. If she's even alive. A dark voice in the back of my head whispers. I push it to the back of my mind, building a fire around it so that it can not escape. No. Toni is strong, she will make it out alive, she has before and she'll do it again. My strength from that thought returns slightly and I manage to stop crying for the time being. No, Toni will not die, she'll be okay. You promised her that and you'll keep that promise.

I stand up, suddenly, my determination demanding that I do at least something other than cry and sit in the same place for the next three hours as we wait for news from the other team or from Thor at least. My sudden movement surprises the Avengers, but I don't focus on them as they ask if I'm okay. If I can just get in contact with Toni or at least someone who had been with her... I'm sure I can remember some of the faces of those that were in there. If I can track any signals coming from that area of the building... then maybe I can get her out...

I quickly leave the room and head towards Toni's special lab on the Helicarrier where I know JARVIS is secretly installed. Once in the lab I have JARVIS place it on 'do not disturb' which basically consists of turning off all the cameras in the room and blocking all access unless said otherwise. I begin my search by having JARVIS find all signals coming from the R&D meeting area, there's almost none the only signals that can be found are from the men working on the search. I sigh in frustration and ask JARVIS to keep searching. I lean back in the chair officially defeated and exhausted. Maybe I can close my eyes for a few minutes, no harm in that is there? My thoughts feel slow and my eyes slowly droop and the last thing in my mind is the memory of Toni smiling at me before the meeting, then nothing.

* * *

I wake with a start at the sound of the Avengers alarm blaring around the Helicarrier. I know I'm not an Avenger but right now I don't care. After falling out of my chair and getting up I run at a sprint that could rival Steve Rodgers. The agents I pass all stare at me in shock due to my speed, but I don't really care if it brings up suspicions later, if something's going on that has to do with Toni, I'm not waiting for one of them to come and tell me. As soon as I'm in the room the blaring alarm stops. I look towards the other Avengers who are all standing over a computer, there expressions excited but also nervous. I walk over to them and am about to ask what's going on when I hear a voice.

"We're fine... are six of us in total... We managed to get to the safe room before–" There's quite a bit of static, making it hard to hear what's being said but I can tell it's a female speaking. "...Mrs. Stark was knocked unconscious at one point–" More static and my heart rate quickens at the mention of Toni.

"Is she okay?" Cap asks my question for me seeing my panic start up along with hope.

"Yes... she's okay. She's feeling ill though due to her condition... We're trying to help her as much as possible." More static and we can hear two voices conversing in the background before the female speaks again. "Is Loki there?" She asks and I feel a jolt in my heart at my name. Toni wants to know I'm safe.

"Yes, I'm here." I say and I move to stand closer to the computers. The Avengers backing off somewhat to give me some privacy.

"Loki?" I hear Toni's voice and I choke back on a sob. I can hear the exhaustion and pain in her voice but also relief.

"Ich bin hier Toni." I say, I don't want anyone listening to what we're going to say to each other.

"Bist du in Ordnung?" She replies and I can hear the fear in her voice.

"Ich bin Ok, und du?" I ask my voice shaking slightly in worry.

"Ich bin gut. Mein Magen ist zwar nicht besser, es tut weh." She whispers to me, she'd only whisper if she was in pain or if she doesn't trust someone in there.

"Is everything alright?" I ask in the Asgardian language. Making sure to keep my voice low so that no one else will notice.

"There's a man here..." I wait panicking for the static to go away so that I can speak to her. "He's suspicious to me. I don't like how he watches me, it's unnerving." She whispers and once again the fear in her voice is clear.

"HYDRA were the ones that were sent to kill you Toni. You don't think he's part of HYDRA to you?" I ask worriedly. There's more static and I feel my rate increase to the speed that would make it almost impossible to hide my magic. After a few minutes and questions from the Avengers, Toni's voice comes back through.

"He's HYDRA." She whispers, almost impossible for me to hear. I freeze in place. The terror in Toni's voice was clear and I had to take a long, deep, breath to ensure that my magic doesn't reveal my true identity. " He hasn't tried anything yet. They were going to try and kill me after having the baby everyone seems to think I'm having. He doesn't believe what I said about not being pregnant. So he's biding his time. Loki I'm scared. We have another few days of supplies but I don't know what's going to happen." Her voice has panic edged into it and I have to think for a few moments to ease her pain.

"I know you're scared, but now that we have a signal to you we'll be able to get you out sooner. If something happens contact us but only for emergencies. We don't want the signal to disappear too soon okay?" I say, keeping my voice even for now. Once the call breaks then I'll break down I can't do it now.

"Okay, and Loki?" I respond with a yes so she answers. "I love you. But I think I could be pregnant as well, so please hurry!" I panic at her words. How is she so sure of it now? I take a deep breath and respond quietly.

"I love you too Toni, and don't worry, I'll get you out. I promise." I hear a small sigh of relief and we cut the call but the signal still remains in tact. I press my hands against the table and lean over, bowing my head as I fight to calm down. I feel a hand on my shoulder and Thor is there. I'm surprised. I hadn't thought he'd be here now but I'm grateful for it. I turn to the Avengers and Fury who must have come in with Thor. A take a deep breath and close my eyes before speaking.

"HYDRA's in the safe room with Toni." They respond with shock, anger, and panic but I stop them from saying anything. "Also, Toni now has reason to believe that she is pregnant." That all but freezes everyone in place they stare at me in horror before they all say in unison:

"We need to get her out of there now!"

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try and update sometime next week.**


	16. Chapter 16 Contractions

**Toni**

It wasn't long after my conversation with Loki that I began to feel uneasy. The HYDRA agent was making it slightly more obvious that something was up. Even the others in the, well, room could tell. They'd all help me with the food and cleaning the clothes with what we had, but the HYDRA agent who I've deducted as the 'Dark Blond' keeps looking at me like he's going to do something. He'd stopped hiding it after the first day as the twins, Alexander, and Johnathan could all tell he didn't like me for some reason. They kept hi away from me as much as possible without it becoming too noticeable, but they kept the sharp gear away from him in case he tried anything.

Kate and Sarah helped me out a lot more than I wanted them to, the pain kept coming and going almost making it impossible for me to get out of bed sometimes. I hadn't thought that I was pregnant when Sarah had first mentioned it, but after the first few days I began to believe her. I started focusing on the things that I was feeling and had felt for the past few months and it all added up. I am definitely pregnant despite all the tests coming up a false. It scares me. Knowing that I could go into labour at any point without proper medication or help and without anyone else knowing. I'd told Loki and we could practically read each others thoughts, I'm scared and so is he. If I have a baby down here when HYDRA has an agent with me then we could both end up dead. I knew without a doubt that the Avengers and Loki were doing everything to uncover me and the others in the room, but I can't help but think: what if they come too late?

I shove the thoughts out of my head, it'll only make things worse for me. I hadn't told those in the room that I'm sure that I'm pregnant not with The Dark Blond watching. The only ones that I had been able to 'tell' were Sarah and Kate. They knew ASL (American Sign Language) so I 'told' them whilst they were helping me into bed last night. They're scared for me, especially after what I'd already told them. Sarah is a mother with three of her own children so she's briefed me somewhat on what I'll experience and she has a good idea of how to help me, but they're both scared about what the birth will do to me, especially if something happens to my Arc Reactor.

I take a calm breath to relax my speeding heart. I'm lying on the cot currently. Too much of my energy had been used talking to Loki, the Dark Blond wasn't too happy when I started speaking in other languages, I could read that from his face, but I'd had to dig deeper into his literal thoughts to make certain that he was with HYDRA, it'd scared me when I found out he was, but I they all wrote it off as just being scared about the situation at hand since they couldn't actually understand what I was saying. The curtain's drawn around the bed with Alexander and Johnathan 'guarding' me. Sarah and Kate are closer to the knives that were in the 72 hour packs whilst The Dark Blond is seemingly sulking at the other end of the room. No one's talking and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I just hope that Loki will get here soon, I want to go home and feel safe with him, I don't want to be trapped.

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A wake up feeling cold and the air seems to shimmer around me. Something's moving above us. My heart rate quickens as my mind produces every single scenario, including the ones that don't make any sense. I finally settle with the Searchers above us removing some of the rubble on top of the room as I can see dust piling in through the door, we'd thought it'd be best to leave both ways open so that we could see if anything came through. That's when I realise that I don't remember anyone removing the curtain from around my cot. I look around and see the twins still sleeping along with Alexander and Johnathan, but I can't see the Dark Blond anywhere.

I feel adrenaline begin to pulse through my veins as I slide my legs over the side of the bed and slowly sit up, placing a hand on top of my pregnant belly. I look to either side of me making sure he isn't close to me. I don't see him anywhere until I notice one of the lamps on in the other room where the dust id falling down. I stay where I am, unsure of what to do. I most certainly won't walk towards the sound like they always do in the movies. Because seriously, who in there right mind would go towards a sound during the night and in the dark when it could be someone there to kill you? Sometimes it's practically impossible to understand Hollywood's ideas.

I know that I can't pull the curtain around the bed as that'll make noise, and he'll know that I'm awake anyway and I'd rather catch him awake than asleep if he tries to do anything to my Arc Reactor. My Arc Reactor!

I quickly look down and examine it with my hand and eyes after carefully removing it. It hasn't been touched and I place it back in my chest, relaxing somewhat when I feel the pain in chest disappear momentarily. I'm dressed in a navy flannel shirt and black shorts that just reach my knees. My pregnant stomach is clearly seen despite the flannel shirt's size which makes me uncomfortable, I don't want him to see me like this, he could clearly target the baby even if he's not certain that I'm pregnant. I cry out in pain when I feel something inside of me change, it's something I've never experienced before, not even the shrapnel can be compared to it. That's when I hear the noise in the other room stop and the Dark Blond moves into my line of sight, holding a knife in his right hand. I immediately panic but try to keep my face as cool as possible, only allowing him to see some of the pain that I'm feeling.

He walks up to me, knife in hand, and stops just in front of me so that I have to look up to him. He then gets down on both knees and sits back on his feet whilst continuing to watch me as I try to ignore the pain unsuccessfully. "Are you okay?" He asks gruffly as I try to ignore the pain once more, I nod in response, unable to do anything else. I'm praying that someone else will wake up so that I'm not alone as I'm afraid of what he'll do to me. "You can keep all this protection around you but you'll never be safe from me. I'll kill you for what you did." I try and calm down my heart but it's in vain. Unfortunately the Arc Reactor gives away my panic as it brightens up slightly, illuminating his face and I gasp in shock when I see his face clearly for the first time.

He's my ex-boyfriend, the who'd cheated on me. He'd joined HYDRA so that he can kill me. He smirks at me when he sees the fear on my face. "Finally figured it out have you? I thought you were supposed to be smart?" He asks slyly. I feel my heart rate increase as he places a hand on my cheek, his eyes and face cold and dark. "You could always come with me to HYDRA. I won't hurt you if you come with me and then we can become better acquainted." I stare at him in horror at his words before returning with a glare. I know exactly what he means, but I refuse to do it. I won't leave my husband for him.

"Never!" I spit at him and he glares at me darkly but I won't pull back. Now that I know who I'm dealing with I'll never surrender to him. He smiles darkly but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"Stubbornness will be your end today Toni, never forget that." And without another word his hand flies up to my chest. I scream in pain as I feel the Arc Reactor's energy explode in my chest before spiralling out and hitting him square in the face and blasting him across the room. By the time the light disappears everyone else has woken up and the Arc has died. The knife still protruding from it inside my chest. It hadn't hit my heart but it had gone far enough in that I know my Reactor can not be fixed. I'd been subconsciously watching his knife hand so that I'd know when to move but at the moment I needed to move, another wave of pain had hit me and I've finally realised what it is.

I'm in labour.

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**Okay I know it's cruel to leave it here, but I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17 Pain and Relief Part 1

**Avengers**

"How much longer before you think we'll reach them?" Cap asks the main officer running the rescue. They've been down here for 8 hours since Toni and Loki got to speak to each other, the rubble and debris was still taking too long for them up on the Helicarrier so they'd come down to see if they could be of any assistance. So far they haven't done too much other than remove rubble too big for the Crane's to lift, Loki lifted/removed the most rubble though, he was surprisingly strong but Cap had no doubt that he's been running on adrenaline and possible Coke for the past few hours. Ever since finding out that a HYDRA agent was down there with Toni everyone has been coming to help. Several companies in association with Stark Industries have been adding to the machines and people helping find Toni and others still trapped in the collapsed R&D department. SO far another 100 people have been found alive, with 112 other dead bodies that have been removed from the site.

It pains all of them to see so many casualties at Stark Industries but there isn't anything that can be done about them except hope that the other people still trapped down there are alive.

A bright blue flash in the early morning sky stops everything at work. Nobody moves until the light disappears back under the rubble where they think Toni is. It's silent for a moment before a shrill scream is heard, muffled by rubble but still loud enough to be heard. A woman's scream.

Immediately everyone get's back to work and the Avengers rush forward to help whilst Loki tries to get a signal to where Toni is and find out what's going on. His panic is clear in his face when he doesn't get through the first few times then it connects. "Hello?! Toni?! Is everything all right?!" Loki yells into the receiver over all the machinery, the call is connected to the loudspeakers so that everyone can hear what is going on. Instead of Toni answering a woman they know as Sarah speaks.

"Mr. Stark is that you?! We need immediate medical assistance down here Mrs. Stark she's–!" A loud scream can be heard through the speakers and slightly through the rubble.

"What's going on?!" Loki cries out in obvious panic.

"The Hydra agent, he stabbed her Arc Reactor and it exploded!" Sarah get's through before static takes over once more. Everyone's frozen in fear as that sinks in but Sarah speaks again before anything else is done. "The agent's either dead or unconscious, we don't know for certain, but Mrs. Stark is in labour!" The silence finally shatters as the call cuts out, disconnected from them and orders start flying through the air. Everyone begins removing rubble as ordered as quickly and safely as possible to try and reach Toni. They all know the risks but they're not about to allow Toni to die.

Loki's currently in shock and Thor is trying to speak to him. Cap goes over to them and he notices slight changes in Loki's appearance, his clothes seem to be flickering different colours and something green is around his hands.

"Thor we need you up there helping!" Cap yells at him whilst still watching Loki who suddenly attempts to run towards the collapsed department. Cap catches him on the way there and pushes him back to the van where the communication is. "Loki you can't go up there in shock, see if you can get the connection back up!" Loki seems to shake out of his shock and starts shouting at Cap.

"I can't! The device is broken! I need to help Cap I can do more than anyone else over there can!" Thor's currently holding him back as he tries to escape again. Cap abruptly refuses.

"You can't! What can you do? We'll get to her just wait!" Loki's now shaking and suddenly his eyes change colour from blue to green and his clothes change to match that of the Loki they know is Asgard. His hair is a darker shade of black but remains the same length. Cap stares in shock as do the others who are now watching including the press that somehow managed to break through security again.

"Yes I can. I promised her I'd get her out and that's what I'll do." He abruptly starts running towards the rubble still dressed in his human clothes which have now changed to a dark shade of green. Cap looks at Thor who only looks sheepish.

"I shall explain later." He states before running after his brother.

Cap follows and watches in shock and awe as Loki uses his magic to remove a ton of rubble and move it safely away, it takes almost a full 20 minutes in which Pepper Hogan has arrived with a new Arc Reactor for Toni. Everyone can now clearly hear the screams from Toni. Cap, the Avengers and Loki all remove the last layer of rubble, in which Toni can be seen lying on a cot, with a blanket over her waistline and legs, in the corner giving birth.

They all run towards her Only to be intercepted by two men. They try to push past them but they push them back saying that no one but Pepper and Loki can go to her. They pull back and watch as Loki goes over to Toni and takes her hand in his. The relief on her face despite her obvious pain is clear and Cap is sure that the press captured that-they'd incidentally followed them down here but aren't allowed to go any further due to the two men and some of the Avengers keeping them back.

After a few more painful seconds of Toni's screaming there's a cry of a baby and a very brief flash of blue light as the new Arc Reactor is installed. The silence is sudden and when they turn around they can see a baby being held by Toni. Loki looks to be crying and is on one knee his arms around both Toni and the baby.

That's when Toni notices us and motions for us to come closer, she glares at them press when they try to follow and Loki shoots them a warning glance causing them to stay where they are. Toni looks completely shattered and is covered head-to-toe in sweat and dust but she looks happy. Her baby's still crying but seems to be calming down as it rests on her chest. The baby's wrapped in a small blanket and is still covered in blood but Toni doesn't seem to care, she's just happy.

The sight of both mother and baby happy makes them all happy for them, even though they still don't understand what's going on with Loki they're just happy that she's safe. "Is it a boy or girl?" Bruce-now de-hulked-asks quietly so as not to disturb the resting baby.

"It's a boy." Toni whispers back, her voice hoarse from all the screaming. A woman passes her some water which Loki holds for her so that she can still hold their child in her arms. Her breathing eases up slightly and she moans in pain. Everyone tenses for a second before she whispers slightly clearer this time: "Shrapnel." At that point medical is finally allowed into the room by literally pushing through the press who are trying to get questions in and pictures. She's carefully loaded onto the stretcher thankfully leaving the baby undisturbed, and is covered with more blankets whilst being given an oxygen mask. They quickly move her out of the room and towards the waiting ambulance. Loki following close behind, no one says anything to stop him and he doesn't spare anyone else a glance. His watchful eyes kept trained on Toni and the baby.

_Maybe he does love her after all_. Cap thinks and goes to follow them out before seeing a dead body on the floor, the face completely charred. "The agent." A man next to him says. He nods to him and he leaves with the rest of the medical. He other Avengers quickly hide the body from the press as SHIELD comes to collect it then they ignore what everyone else says and ten minutes later leave for the Hospital to see Toni.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it's short but it felt right to leave it here. Also any suggestions for a name? I'm kind of stumped at the moment.**


	18. Chapter 18 Pain and Relief Part 2

**Pain.**

That's all I could feel. **Pain.**

It wasn't just pain in the physical sense. No. It was pain in the emotional, mental, and spiritual sense.

To have your ex-boyfriend reveal he would kill you is emotional.

Having him threaten your husband and baby in riddles is mental.

Knowing that there is nothing you can do to protect your unborn baby whilst knowing its spirit is near you, is spiritual.

Your heart exploding inside your chest and killing your ex whilst going through contractions and feeling shrapnel creeping closer to your heart, is the worst physical pain for anyone to go to. Especially when you know that you will be dead in twenty minutes along with your baby if you don't give birth soon.

It was agony. Fighting to give birth to the baby as your heart is literally being attacked by shrapnel that is rapidly decreasing your health and strength. All the while your thoughts are scattered by flashbacks of your worst experiences and the occasional hallucination that your ex is alive and is trying to kill you. Your want for the father of your baby to be with you when the baby is born but knowing that he can't reach you. Knowing that if you die you will be with your baby but the father will never see either of you together or apart.

You want so badly to hold on and fight for the life of yourself and the baby, but a dark thought in the back of your mind tells you how easy it would be to just give up and let death claim both of you.

No. Stark's are made of iron, as your dad would say. They never give up. They're born with too much stubbornness to give up which is how they often land in trouble. It would be a sin to give up now, to allow yourself to die when you're in the process of giving life to someone else, someone that you love despite that you have not met yet.

Your mind reels as another wave of pain from your heart and abdomen shatter your thoughts again and you feel a though you aren't going to make it through. You can feel the blood filling up in your lungs, unsure of how it found its way there. Your heart trying to push the shrapnel away whilst trying to send the strength it needs to where the baby is so that it will have a chance to live.

Pain no longer fits the description and agony is nowhere near close to what you are feeling. You want it to stop. For the pain to go away at least for a moment. You're starting to quit when you feel a hand in your own.

Finally being able to see through the tears you see the father of your baby. He looks scared yet relieved as he looks down at you. He whispers something to you that you manage to hear over your screaming.

"I promised you that you'd be alright Toni, and you will be. Don't give up, the baby's nearly here. You're not alone in this fight anymore." Then you suddenly feel light travelling into your heart and the shrapnel is pulled away so fast that it almost stopped your heart. Your heart stutters for a moment before returning to a steady, yet strong beat. The new found strength allows you to make that final push in which you hear the small cry of baby that is now being placed in your arms.

All the pain in the world is worth experiencing just to hold your baby in your arms. The pain has gone, not trace of it ever existing is left in your mind. You don't care that you may be covered in sweat and blood or that the baby is too. He's yours. You won't ever give him up for anything, you would never let him give up after what you went through. It will always be worth it to you.

You see your friends watching you and motion them to come before glaring at the cameras that don't seem to leave you alone. They stay back and don't come near as you whisper to you crying bay and to your friends the answer to a question.

You're then laid on a hard surface that makes your back complain, but you don't care. As long as you have your baby you are happy. The father is with you, sending reassurances with his eyes. You can finally rest now. Your eyes close and you can finally accept the exhaustion as you know that everything will be okay. You're safe.

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**I know it's another short one, but don't worry I'll continue writing, but if anyone is bored with the story or are waiting for it to end then you can stop here if you want to. Though I think that I'll maybe only write 2 or 3 more chapters before I think it will be done. Anyway I hope you're enjoying this, thanks for the reiews!**


	19. Chapter 19 Tony Edward Stark

Murmuring voices bring my thoughts together. It's hard to make the words out as I try to focus. A blinding light hits my eyelids, even though my eyes remain closed, the light burns, clearly it's a white light directly above my head, or almost anyway so I assume that I'm in a hospital. My hearing slowly clears and I can finally recognise the voices to be arguing in. But about what?

"How can we trust you? For all we know you could have been trying to kill her!" Someone yells. The voice is male and most likely one of the Avengers, but I can't tell which one. They must be talking about me or Widow since we're the only females but my bet is the latter one.

"You trusted me before! I've been living with her for over nine months! And I would NEVER kill me wife! Even if I could I wouldn't!" Loki. So they are talking about me. He must have revealed himself when I was trapped, that's the only explanation that makes sense.

"You were probably acting for that, and I can't believe you'd cheat on your wife! We saw you get married on Asgard and yet you ticked Toni into thinking that you were her husband! Now she's lying on that bed in coma because of you!" Natasha's voice. I take it that Loki hasn't told them that I'm a goddess, I thought he would have but-wait did she say I was in a coma?!

"How is it my fault? I didn't do anything to her! She was exhausted from the labour her heart was under! And I haven't been cheating on my wife! She IS my wife! She's the Goddess of Light!" He yells at them and I feel my heart stutter. How long have they been at this? And where's the baby? Silence is met by Loki's outburst but I ignore that still searching with my mind for the baby. I use the light to move around whilst still staying in bed. The butterflies flap around the room until they hover around a small, somehow still sleeping, baby lying in a little bed next to me, on the opposite side of the Avengers and Loki who have started arguing again. I hear Thor's voice break into the mix and defend Loki whilst keeping them quiet due to the baby. I ignore them for now as I slowly open my eyes. The light hurts my eyes so I use the butterflies to turn it down a bit. Thankfully the others don't notice, probably putting it down to Thor. I open my eyes fully and turn my head so that I can see my baby. He's a medium size, dressed in a small light blue onesie with black hair and soft pale skin. Wait when did I touch him to know that he's soft? I blink and realise that I'm sat up in the bed, dressed in one of the nasty hospital gowns, with my left hand holding the baby's right. The shouting behind me increases disturbing the baby who starts to cry. I quickly lift him into my arms and rock him from side to side whilst quietly reassuring him of my presence.

It's so natural. Falling into this mother pattern. He quickly calms down and I see his eyes open for the first time. They're a mixture of brown, green, and blue-white. A mixture of both our eyes, I realise. They're beautiful. I smile warmly down at my son who copies me, showing a small smile of his own. I know it's not possible for him to be able to do that now right? I examine him more closely now and I find that he is bigger than when he was born. If I'm guessing right, he looks to be about three months old! I tune back in to the argument going on behind, hoping that I'll gain some information from it.

"–shouldn't even have that baby! We can take care of him! He will not be going to Asgard, how can we trust you after you lied to us?!" Clint yells. He must have been the first one I heard yelling when I woke up.

"Clint calm down! Thor already explained what happened and why we didn't know about it! Also it is Loki's baby, I did the DNA test earlier so he has every right to take the child!" Bruce speaks quietly but firmly, his voice only slightly raising at the end. Even though I'm not looking at him I can tell that he's close to Hulking out. Very close.

"Banner... calm down. What I believe Clint is trying to say is that Loki won't be able to take care of him properly–" Fury starts before being cut off by Loki. Wait hen did Fury get here?

"I'll have you know that I am very well accustomed to looking after my own son since I have been doing so for the past three months without any trouble!" Loki states and glares at them-I'm assuming he's glaring because they'd only be this quiet if he was. I take a deep breath as I process what he's said. I've been like this for three months. Exhale. I hold the baby closer to my chest as I inhale and allow the tears to fall down my cheeks. It's been three months and my baby's only just met me. I've missed three months of my baby's life.

He starts to cry again in my lap as the arguing rises up again and I can't stand it anymore. I quickly stand up and turn around to face the Avengers and Fury. They're surrounding Loki and Thor, all of them in hostile positions towards them with weapons either in their hands or on their thighs. They continue to argue and I see Loki roll his eyes before glancing at my bed. He freezes when he sees me standing almost behind Bruce and quickly teleports next to me. The argument quickly shuts down as Loki carefully wraps his arms around me and holds me as well as the baby, to his chest and I can hear the tears falling down his cheeks, despite the obvious height difference.

I allow my head to rest on his chest and breathe in his familiar scent of peppermint and hot chocolate (he became absolutely addicted to it after his first try, particularly the mint flavoured one for some reason). My heart slowly calms down but it's too soon that he pulls away from to look at my face.

"Are you okay?" He whispers to me, I smile at his words, remembering how often he asked me that during my unknown pregnancy. I open my mouth to answer when I'm interrupted by Natasha.

"Like you care Loki." She sneers at him and I feel a growl build up in his chest. Before the argument can start up again I pull away from Loki, placing the baby's head against my shoulder so that I'm supporting his bottom and his back when I respond to all of them.

"He does care about me and I'm sick of all of you arguing! I dated Loki long before he attacked New York and we both loved each other then, in fact we'd been close to getting married before he had to return to Asgard! So don't you dare say that he doesn't care about me! If he didn't care then he wouldn't have married me or looked after our son whilst I was in a coma!" My anger fuels my power to shine at full blast around me, causing my eyes to flame an unnatural blue and white and my hair to stand out around me completely black except for the streaks of silver lining down the sides.

The sight clearly shocks them and they all drop their weapons, absolute fear expressed over their features. Even Fury and Natasha have dropped their masks completely. They're absolutely petrified and I'm glad that I'm the one to make them reveal their true emotions. That way they know that they can never fool me, no matter what. Loki stares at me awestruck, his eyes shining with admiration and pride. I feel my heart warm at seeing the pride in his eyes. Something I'd never earned from my father no matter how hard I tried.

I smile back at hi before rubbing the baby's back in soothing circles to calm him down. He'd started crying after I finished yelling, unhappy that I was so upset. I lower him from my shoulder and support his body in both my arms. He appears fascinated with the colour and magic moving around me, I laugh quietly as he tries to grab it before cooling my features once more to face the Avengers with an unreadable expression.

"Loki has always loved me, and I him. I don't care what any of you think about this but if I can't trust then I will return to Asgard and remain there for the rest of eternity. I don't care what happens down here, I won't return if you don't drastically change your opinions and get out of my private life. Until you can do that, you're no longer welcome in my presence." I state with finality, my voice firm and cold as I look each of them in the eye, particularly Natasha, Steve and Fury. I turn away from them so that my back is facing them and wait for them to leave. They do so quietly and I release my power as soon as the door closes, almost collapsing from the exhaustion of using that much energy that I didn't have.

Fortunately Loki catches me before I hit the ground and carried me back to the bed and lays me down gently before pulling the blankets up to my chest to keep me and the baby warm. I relax somewhat as I feel his hand rubbing the baby's back as he falls, gently, to sleep.

"What's his name?" I whisper, removing my eyes from watching Loki's hand sooth the baby so that I can look him in the eyes. He looks a bit sad and doesn't respond for a few minutes before looking back at me and answering my question.

"Tony, Tony Edward Stark." He says quietly, looking back down at his hand as it continues it's circuit around the baby's back. "I didn't want to name him without you, but with it being unknown whether you would make it or not... I wanted him to have part of your name and I remembered that friend you told me about at MIT. The one who saved your life when you were younger and how he didn't survive. You told me he was the bravest person you'd ever known. So I thought I'd put his name in there too. A tribute to him I guess, as well as to you." He pauses, looking back at me with tearing brimming in his eyes. "I wanted our son to be named after the bravest people we've both known, you a bravest person I've ever known Toni and Edward was yours. I wanted our son to be proud of who he is and to remember you." His voice breaks at the end and we're both crying silently as we watch our sleeping baby as he sleeps. Tony. I finally have a name for my baby, one that suits him perfectly.

"Thank you Loki." I whisper through my tears and I kiss him lightly on the lips. Eventually he climbs onto the bed wrapping his arm around me and Tony as a form of protection. I can feel his magic shifting in the air around us and I know that he's placing safety spells around us. I smile to myself as I think of what a great husband I have. Sure we're not perfect and we have occasional fights, but that's normal in almost any marriage and at least I know that he'll never leave me. I sigh quietly, content with the moment before allowing my eyes to close and calmly fall asleep.

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**Okay I know I haven't written in a while but I tend to sleep a lot during the school holidays so sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know the baby's name is a bit ironic and all but I couldn't think of anything else. Also thank you for your patience, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! The story should probably be finished within the next 1 or 2 chapters depending on how my crazy brain goes. As always thanks the reviews and support!**


	20. Chapter 20 Happily Ever After

**3 months later...**

"So what am I doing again?" I ask, still confused about the entire thing. Loki chuckles lightly at Thor's expression which is one of exasperation yet amusement as he explains-again-what I'm supposed to be doing.

"You shall be entering the pool, the same way you did when you became a goddess, only you shall carry Tony with you. Once in the water you remain standing, do not lay down. As soon as the water changes colour then you kneel down in the water and leave the baby on his back with your arms underneath for support. After a few moments there should be complete light in which you will not be able to see. A voice shall speak and give you the name of you son as a god. You repeat what is said then the light will disappear. You shall once more be free of all impurities and the baby shall have powers that will develop as he grows." I blink after he finishes. Despite being a genius and such I can still barely comprehend what we're doing.

We're in Asgard again-and no I haven't completely left Earth, we've managed to come to terms with the Avengers and SHIELD-to do something to the baby, I don't really know what to call it really, bathing maybe? No not that. It's very confusing. But apparently all mothers who are goddesses must come to the pool with their baby to cleanse their body of impurities-not the baby's though because they are perfect-and discover the powers and general destiny of the baby. It's usually supposed to happen a few days after the baby is born, but since I was in a coma and then we had to deal with the Avengers and SHIELD fighting over Loki as well as dealing with HYDRA again to make sure they don't try and kill me again... Well you can see how impossible it has been. Thankfully it doesn't spoil anything to do with the process with the baby which is lucky, but I'm rather confused as to what impurities I'll be cleansed of-physically I mean-since I have long since healed after the shrapnel attack and giving birth, I haven't been allowed to do ay work for my company or the Avengers since my heart is slightly weaker-okay maybe that will be healed then, I tend to forget about it a bit since I'm used to a generally healthy heart.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts so that I can focus on what I'm supposed to be doing. Loki will be waiting outside this time with his family which has left me nervous and is generally why I have been asking Thor what I'm doing over and over again because I can't focus enough. Oh great, now I'm babbling in my brain! Okay just focus on what's in front of you.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes willing my nerves to calm down. I release the breath and with it the tension and nerves in my body leaves. It's a trick Loki taught me. As well as absorbing energy and creating it, I can also release it from my body which has been helping me fall asleep since the death of my ex still haunts me on bad nights as well as my other nightmares. I glance at Loki and Thor giving them a small nod of my head before taking Tony from Loki's arms and walk towards the edge of the pool.

I wait at the edge, listening closely as they leave and I stare down at my 6 month old son. His forest coloured eyes watching me with more intellect than a human baby has ever shown at this age, seemingly curious about what is going on. He's wearing a navy onesie today and a small white hat for his head, we discovered very quickly that he likes to wear hats especially white and blue ones for some reason. I'm dressed much like I was on my wedding day except I'm wearing a deep red dress with gold trimmings at the bottom and on the sleeves, my hair was left alone to fall down my back in waves of black and silver.

Tony appears to be ready for whatever is coming despite his age which allows me to pull up the courage I need to walk into the water. I do exactly as Thor directs, kneeling in the centre of the pool I place Tony gently in the water with my arms still supporting his back. I wait in anticipation for the light to come. After several minutes nothing has happened. I wait now with my anxiety rising up afraid that I've done something wrong or missed a step. I look down at Tony when I feel his hand touch mine. The water has started to change colour. It's a light blue with mixtures of red. Another touch on my hand has me looking at my sons face. His eyes are captivating and as soon as they meet the light comes and all I can see is an indescribable white surrounding me.

Whose is the child?

I blink in surprise at the question, not expecting it to ask me that.

His name is Tony Edward Stark, son of Loki Laufeyson God of Mischief and Toni Eliza Stark Goddess of Light and Energy.

Your son is heir to your family, the voice whispers to me filling the room, he shall be great in knowledge and wisdom, learning from the examples of his family. He shall teach others truth and defend those he loves with honour. He shall become the God of Wisdom and Power.

The whisper disappears around the room almost echoing. I blink a few times as the light dims and eventually diminishes. Leaving the room looking almost black and murky whereas before it looked elegant and bright. I look down at my son who is now asleep, his black hair has a hint of red in it but otherwise not much has changed in his features. I stand up, carefully moving him back into the crook of my arms when I notice something in the water. Supporting Tony with one arm, I bend down with my knees and pick up the light in the water.

It's my Arc Reactor.

Healed of all impurities. My Arc Reactor is now gone, and I can see the shrapnel lying at the bottom of the pool. My heart feels lighter than it has ever been in my life. Nothing seems to be weighing me down. My heart ids full of peace knowing that I'll never have to worry about it again. I smile to myself and wade through the water to the edge of the pool stepping out of the water I realise with surprise that I'm remarkably still dry. I don't even remember feeling the water soak into my clothes when I went in. Maybe the dress is waterproof? It doesn't matter though, I think as I walk out of the room. I smile when I see Loki waiting for me. He asks me about what happened and what was said so I naturally tell him everything including the Arc Reactor.

He looks shocked when he realises that it's no longer in my chest, but relieved as well. He kisses me gently on the lips before carefully taking Tony out of my arms and into his own as we begin our journey back to the Bifrost. Tony's name won't be announced until he has turned 21 and is ready to use his powers in the world once he has completed the training he will go through with his magic. It doesn't take us long to get to Heimdall at the Bifrost and return to Avengers Tower with Thor. Upon our arrival we are met by Natasha and Bruce on the Helipad. Natasha comes right up to Loki and steals Tony from his arms smiling widely at the sleeping baby. Loki scowls at her for stealing him and I just laugh at their expressions when Clint suddenly appears out of nowhere stealing him from her.

They all three begin to argue when Bruce takes him from Clint and hands him back to me, they know not to take him from me as I have been deducted as the 'mother-hen' for the Avengers and my baby. It wasn't long after I'd yelled at them three months ago that they sorted out their acts. It took them a while to trust Loki again but after seeing the way he played with Tony and looked after him when I couldn't softened their hearts and allowed them to trust him again. Since then they've all been fighting over who get's to play or look after Tony when I'm at work with Loki or am too tired or have gone for a date night with Loki. It is very fun to watch, especially Bruce and Natasha.

Tony, Bruce and Natasha absolutely love each other, and despite Bruce's fears, he's very good with babies and finally asked Natasha out on a date with him. There was a lot of teasing when we found out and a lot of jokes, but we now all get along together much better than we used to.

We walk into the common room where Cap is currently sketching a picture of the sunset outside. He smiles when he sees us, pausing in his drawing to hold Tony who woke up from being passed around by everyone. It's not long before everyone starts playing with him, including Thor who is surprisingly gentle and quiet around children. I lean back into the sofa, letting the soft cushion relax my frame. Loki joins me after a few minutes of playing with Tony, placing his arm around me and allowing me to lean on his chest.

Really, you wouldn't think this was real. All the love and happiness that we all share together after what happened only a couple months ago, yet it is. I look around me and smile gently before sharing a look with Loki. We finally have the family we wanted and nothing will ever take that away from us.

**The End**

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**This is the last chapter so I hope you enjoyed this series! If you want more stories like this or something completely different then just send me a message on Instagram: 4cts_of_71ndness and I'll see what I can do. I hope you liked this! :) (Plus I wrote this chapter with maybe 1 hour of sleep between today and yesterday so bear with me). Also I have an idea for a fic where Tony dates Fury's daughter unbeknown to any of them, haven't started writing it yet but I might start it at some point unless I get another idea. So if you want me to write it then just send me a message and I'll start some more stories. Thanks for reading!**


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